Star basketball recruit Isaac Hamilton asks to leave UTEP; coach Floyd denies request

Just a few months ago, UTEP basketball fans had a lot to look forward to.

But now it seems that all the dreams that came with a top 25 recruiting class have come crashing down.

Two of the Miners’ six recruits – Andre Spight and Jacob Thomas – did not qualify academically for the upcoming season.

On Saturday, the Los Angeles Times reported that UTEP’s five star recruit Isaac Hamilton asked UTEP to release him from his national letter of intent.

UTEP did not grant the release and Hamilton has appealed the decision. Floyd told the LA Times Hamilton wants to attend USC so he can be closer to his ill grandmother.

“Isaac made his decision for all the right reasons,” Floyd told the LA Times of the player’s decision to attend UTEP. “If this appeal is allowed, we might as well not have letters of intent.”

Hamilton texted SNY.tv this weekend, “Right now I’m not really looking into schools. Just been out here taking care of my grandma.”

Hamilton had tweeted on July 11 why he was not in El Paso.

“To all Utep fans my grandmother is ill and I’m dealing with a death in the family that’s why I haven’t made it yet,” Hamilton tweeted.

UTEP senior center John Bohannon, on his since-deleted Twitter account, tweeted to Hamilton this weekend after the LA Times story came out.

“nothing but support for ya my boy I was in a similar situation outta HS..hmu if you need to talk about it,” Bohannon tweeted to Hamilton.

Hamilton tweeted back to Bohannon, “thanks bro means a lot, I really do appreciate that.”

Isaac Hamilton bio from UTEP

Unanimously regarded as one of the top-25 prep prospects in the nation … only the second McDonald’s All-American to play for the Miners, joining Chris Sandle who spent two seasons in El Paso (1986-88) after transferring from Arizona State … rated a five-star recruit, the no. 3 shooting guard and the no. 14 player in the country by Rivals … regarded as a four-star prospect, the no. 5 two-guard in the Class of 2013 and the no. 4 player in California by Scout.com … ranked no. 25 in the ESPNU Top-100 with an overall grade of 89 … also listed as the no. 19 player nationally by 247sports.com, as well as the no. 3 shooting guard and the no. 3 player in the Golden State … played for coach Derrick Taylor at St. John Bosco High School for his last two prep seasons … averaged 22.1 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.1 steals for a 24-7 team as a senior … St. John Bosco was ranked in the state’s top 10 and won the CIF-SS Division 3A championship … chosen one of seven John R. Wooden High School Player of the Year award winners for SoCal … other senior honors included first team All-State, Southern Section 3A Player of the Year, All-Area (Los Angeles Times), Division III State Player of the Year, All Best of the West Dream Team (Long Beach Press-Telegram) and East Region Player of the Year (Wave Newspapers) … collected 19 points, four assists, four steals and three rebounds in the 2012 Under Armour Elite 24 Game, matching the top players from across the country … averaged 24.3 points, 9.6 rebounds, 5.4 assists and 2.2 steals as a junior, earning first team All-State, All-League and All-Region accolades for a 25-8 team … also a member of the Dream Vision AAU squad … scored 50 points (30 in the first half) versus Cache Valley Elite in the opening bracket game of the adidas Super 64 in the summer of 2012 … started his prep career at Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles … averaged 19.5 ppg as a sophomore to merit first team All-City Section honors … comes from a basketball family … older brother Jordan was the no. 26 pick in the 2011 NBA Draft out of the University of Texas, and currently plays for the Denver Nuggets … older brother Gary Hamilton played at Miami (Fla.) for four years before enjoying a pro career overseas … Isaac is the nephew of Kevin Hamilton, who played for the Miners from 1982-86 and was a member of three NCAA Tournament teams … parents are Greg and Karen Hamilton … has four brothers and one sister … born 5/14/94 (Los Angeles, Calif.).