NAIA transfer Alton Hamilton IV brings boost to Eastern Washington's frontcourt

4 days ago 2

Jan. 7—At the conclusion of Dan Monson's first year as Eastern Washington's head men's basketball coach, one of the team's glaring needs was more size at forward.

Some of the Eagles' deficit materialized in statistics, such as their Big Sky-low rebounding average (30.1) and their Big Sky-worst opponent field goal percentage (46.7).

But a simple scan of the team's roster revealed a simpler fact: The Eagles had just one regular contributor who stood taller than 6-foot-7.

The 2025-26 season hasn't started how the Eagles would have liked, what with the team's 2-12 overall record and an 0-1 start to Big Sky play. But they are, at least, sized up at forward, and a significant contributor has been Alton Hamilton IV.

"I think my favorite thing about him is he knows he can play with anybody," EWU redshirt senior Jojo Anderson said of Hamilton. "And he's extremely talented and skilled."

Anderson referenced how Hamilton played in his Eastern Washington debut, in the team's season opener, when he lined up against UCLA forward Tyler Bilodeau. Hamilton's final line in that game: 6 of 9 from the field, 13 points, four rebounds and one foul in 24 minutes. Bilodeau's: 8 of 16 from the field, 19 points, six rebounds and three fouls in 31 minutes.

To Anderson, that was revealing.

"Going against Bilodeau, (Hamilton) got to figure it out right away that he is an elite-level big," Anderson said.

Heading into Thursday's 6 p.m. home game at Reese Court in Cheney against Montana State, Hamilton — a junior transfer from Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho — is now averaging the second-most minutes (26.5) and points (12.2) on the team. Those numbers are on par with another of the team's new 6-foot-9 forwards, fellow transfer Kiree Huie (12.1 points per game while averaging 24.3 minutes).

Together, the pair of forwards have solidified a frontcourt rotation that also includes returner Emmett Marquardt, the redshirt sophomore whose minutes are down from 22.8 last year to 18.4 this year.

Hamilton arrived at Eastern as a celebrated NAIA player. He was voted Cascade Conference player of the year last season while averaging 17.3 points and 10.3 rebounds. That came on the heels of a conference freshman of the year campaign in 2023-24.

Following his sophomore season, Hamilton took a lot of phone calls, he said, but Eastern was the first and only visit he ended up taking.

"I immediately felt there was a family here that I wanted to be a part of," he said. "I was impressed most by the relationships I could see in the two days I visited, not just between the players but coach-to-coach and the coaches to the players. They enjoyed being around each other, and there was a common goal."

That goal still hasn't changed, despite the team's record.

Eastern's defensive metrics still are not great. Their defensive scoring, opponent field-goal percentage and total rebounds numbers rank last in the 10-team Big Sky, though the Eagles have played one of the league's most difficult schedules. Conference data, once there is more of it, will paint a more accurate picture.

"We're learning how difficult it is to win games," Hamilton said. "Every game we're getting closer and closer."

Midway through the season, Hamilton says the team is still united, and he gave credit to the coaching staff that was so instrumental in bringing him to Eastern in the first place.

"For our coaching staff, it would be a lot easier to weigh down on us and tell us what we're doing wrong," he said. "But this coaching staff has done an unbelievable job of keeping us together and building us up."

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