Been getting some emails (and some strange comments on the blog) about the prospects of Daniel Hamilton and Amida Brimah electing to leave UConn and take their chances at the 2015 NBA draft.

It appears UConn fans have nothing to worry about.

Brimah's legal guardian said late last week that Brimah isn't thinking at all about throwing his hat in the ring of the draft. And on Tuesday, I chatted with Daniel's mom, Karen, on the phone, and she told me that her son has no plans to enter this year's draft, either.

"He'll be going back to school," Karen said, matter-of-factly.

And yes, that means UConn, not another program.

"He's definitely happy," she continued. "He wants the opportunity to continue to get better. He wants to concentrate on his studies. Those are the types of things that we care about."

Hamilton, of course, lost his grandmother, Lucine Noble (Karen's mom), recently. It's been tough on him, especially being so far away from his Los Angeles home. It was a decline in Lucine's health a couple of years ago that precipitated Isaac, Daniel's older brother, to break his commitment from UTEP and play closer to home at UCLA.

Karen, who wasn't able to get out to a UConn game this year because of her mother's deteriorating health, has done her best to comfort Daniel from afar.

"We've been on the phone every night," Karen said. "I keep telling him, (take) one day at a time."

Karen added that Daniel wants to improve not only as a basketball player, but as a person -- something easier to do at college than playing professional basketball.

"It's the mental toughness and things you have to deal with," she said. "It's not just basketball, it's maturing. When you're in a college setting ... we're talking about the difference between going to school and being in the pros. You can do what you need to do and get better either way, but you can't get your college experience back."

The final signing date for Daniel Hamilton’s national letter of intent has come and gone, and UConn has not received Hamilton’s LOI.

Fear not, Husky fans. He’s coming to Storrs. In fact, we can give you just about an exact date: June 20.

Hamilton said he hopes to be on campus around June 20 so that he can take part in two summer sessions. He’ll likely be helping out at Kevin Ollie’s camp, as well.

“I feel real good about it,” said Hamilton. “I’m excited to come there, ready to work. I know Kevin Ollie likes hard-working dudes. I’m hoping to do both sessions of summer school, get my body right and get that hard-working mentality.”

While questions abounded over whether Ollie might head to the NBA over the past couple of months, Hamilton was never too worried.

“He told me he was thinking about staying, that he was going to be there for us, he’s not going to leave the kids he recruited,” the 6-foot-7 wing said. “I’m happy he’s there for the kids and stayed loyal to them.”

Hamilton famously didn’t sign a national letter of intentafter committing to UConn, precisely for that reason: if Ollie bolted, he wanted the flexibility to be able to go to another school, if he wanted. He didn’t want to wind up in a similar situation as his older brother, Isaac, who wasn’t released from his LOI by Tim Floyd at UTEP and had to sit out last season. He’ll play at UCLA this upcoming season.

And if Ollie had gone to the NBA?

“I would have had to talk to my family and with the coaches at UConn and see what my next best move would have been,” said Hamilton, who has signed financial aid papers with the school.

The deadline for men’s basketball players to have signed their national letter of intent for this upcoming season was May 21.

Hamilton, a 6-foot-7 shooting guard, is rated as the No. 14 recruit in the nation by rivals.com. He visited UConn back on Jan. 18 (taking in the Huskies’ home loss to Louisville), and was back on the East Coast for the Jordan Brand Classic game at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center on April 18, starting for the West Team and scoring 10 points in a 158-147 loss.

Hamilton sees himself as either a shooting guard or small forward, but says he’ll “play wherever coach puts me at, come in and fit in wherever.”

He added that he’s been texting frequently with soon-to-be teammate Rodney Purvis, getting updates on campus life, and believes UConn could be poised to repeat as national champs next season.

“I think we’ll do pretty well,” he said. “I think we can make a good run at the tournament again. We’ve got a lot of versatile guys, with Rodney Purvis, Ryan Boatright coming back, and with me coming there. I think Amida Brimah will be ready to play. He’s gonna put on some weight and be ready, be more ready his second year. I think we’re gonna make another run at it.”

If there were still any questions whether or not Daniel Hamilton was firmly committed to attending UConn next season, the 6-foot-8 shooting guard out of L.A.'s St. John Bosco High put them to rest on Saturday morning. Watch and listen:



Hamilton signed a financial aid agreement to attend UConn back in November but didn't sign a national letter-of-intent. The reason basically was because of the experience his older brother, Isaac, went through.

Daniel didn't want to be bound to a school like Isaac was, so he only signed the financial-aid forms.

"No schools are calling me, trying to recruit him," said Bosco coach Derrick Taylor. "He’s not looking at anyone else, so that’s all because of his brother ... It was such a bad experience with his brother, and that’s all that it was. But he’s loyal to UConn. I mean, he wears UConn garb everywhere he goes. And his parents wear UConn garb everywhere they go.”

When Isaac transferred to UCLA in September, some speculated that Daniel would soon follow.

“People just want to stir up some stuff, something they can talk about," Daniel said. "But, no, there were no facts about that.”

Hamilton said of UConn: “I’m real excited to come in and play for Coach Ollie, who’s a great dude. He went to Crenshaw High School, I went there my freshman year. There’s just a connection and a bond there, somebody I can trust, and somebody who can really help me better my game.”

“Coach Ollie’s a real good dude, just a solid dude. That’s when he first started recruiting me, at Crenshaw. He came out to a couple of pick-ups and a couple of games. Even when Isaac went to UTEP, Coach Ollie never stopped, when a lot of coaches and teams stopped recruiting me because they thought they didn’t have a (chance). But Coach Ollie never stopped recruiting me.”

Bosco plays in the Hoop Hall Classic tonight at 6 p.m. against St. Frances Academy (Md.) at Springfield College's Blake Arena. The team opened its practice to reporters this morning.

Hamilton and teammate Vance Jackson, 6-8, a Class of 2016 forward, will be at UConn's game against Louisville tonight.

Taylor, who also coached DeAndre Daniels at L.A.'s Taft High, said Hamilton is having a fine senior season.

“Daniel’s doing what we expect him to do. He’s having a really good year, leading us in scoring, rebounding and assists. And, he draws the toughest man every night.”

Taylor said Hamilton's greatest strength is his "versatility." In fact, Hamilton will play some point guard tonight, since Tyler Dorsey (an Arizona commit) didn't make the trip with the team.

What does Hamilton need to work on?

“Being patient, offensively. Sometimes he tries to force his offense, because he believes he can do so many things. At times, he takes more risks than he should.”

But, Taylor added, “He has a will to win like no other. As coach, it’s easier to turn a guy down than try to dial a guy up. You don’t ever have to turn him up. That guy is ready to play from Day One. He’s very quiet, his demeanor is low-key, but on the court he’s like a mad man.”

“(UConn is) going to give him the opportunity, that’s all he asks for. Daniel’s going to make his way. You’ll find out, he’s one of the most competitive individuals. And he thinks he’s better than everyone, so he’s going to try, try, try. I think you guys will love him. He’ll play so hard, and he’ll play the game correctly.”

Added Hamilton: “I think I’ve been playing alright, (but) I think I can play better. Just more of a leadership, being a ‘C,’ I think I can lead my team better. It’s something I’m trying to work on right now, maturity.”

As for next season at UConn, “It’s a matter of earning a spot. Nothing’s going to be given to me at all, so I just think I can come in and play if I work hard. That’s the main thing. And what I really want to do is just win.”

The southern Californian doesn't even mind the snowy weather he's encountering in New England this weekend.

“I like the cold weather," Hamilton said. "Matter of fact, I can’t even sleep unless the room is cold. That’s something people don’t know about me. I like it real cold. In the hotel room, I put it on as cold as it can be.”

*** Bosco principal Casey Yeazel also had good things to say about Hamilton.

“He’s a good young man. Given his talent and his ability, you would never know how many accolades he’s gotten, basketball-wise, because of the way he carries himself on campus. He’s very humble, never gets into trouble, takes care of everything we ask for academically. UConn’s getting a good, good young man. He comes from a good family, good parents. We’re really pleased to have him, a great piece to this whole program.”

*** Jackson is also being recruited by UConn, along with Arizona, UCLA, Arizona State, Washington, USC and Georgetown.

“He can shoot a basketball like you cannot believe," Taylor said. He added that the only weakness of Jackson's game is that he's not overly athletic.

"He's skilled, he's smart," the coach said, "and he can shoot it."

Said Jackson of UConn: “I just like the tradition they have, I like coach Kevin Ollie, and I like how they play. It seems like I can fit in there, too. I like their system.”

He did note that he needs to get "more physical ... more rebounds."

The Hamilton brothers have saved their parents a lot of money in college tuition over the past decade or so. Here's a video from the L.A. Times on the four -- Greg, Jordan, Isaac and new UConn commit Daniel: