UConn to retire Richard ‘Rip’ Hamilton’s No. 32
The UConn men’s basketball team announced Tuesday that Richard “Rip” Hamilton’s No. 32 will be retired this season.
The ceremony will take place at halftime of UConn’s game against Villanova on Feb. 24. Hamilton will join Ray Allen (No. 34) as the only men’s basketball players to have their numbers hanging in the rafters of Gampel Pavilion.
Hamilton played three seasons at UConn but became one of the program’s most prolific scorers. He scored 2,036 career points, second only to Chris Smith (2,145) on the all-time UConn scoring list.
Rip led the Huskies in scoring in each of his three seasons and his career scoring average (19.8) ranks third all time. The guard was a two-time All-American (1998-99), won Big East Player of the Year in 1998 and 1999, and led UConn to the 1999 National Championship, where he was named the Most Outstanding Player of the Final Four.
The Pennsylvania native was selected No. 7 overall in the 1999 NBA Draft by the Washington Wizards and enjoyed a 14-year career with Washington, the Detroit Pistons, and Chicago Bulls.
Basketball fans will know Hamilton best as part of those great Pistons teams of the early 2000s. He was a big part of the Pistons' 2003-04 championship team and was a three-time All-Star.
