Rodney Hamilton is in his third season as the Austin Peay State University associate head coach after joining head coach Corey Gipson’s inaugural staff March 2023.
Hamilton brought over a decade of experience to Clarksville and previously served on staffs that have produced four National Basketball Association Draft picks – including a trio of first-round selections.
Hamilton worked alongside Gipson as his associate head coach at Northwestern State during the 2022-23 season, where the duo turned around a Demons’ team that won just nine games prior to their arrival into a 22-11 program that earned the No. 2 seed in the 2023 Southland Conference Men’s Basketball Championship. The 13-win turnaround is the largest in the program’s 47-year history.
The Demons had two All-Southland selections last season in DeMarcus Sharp – the Southland Conference Player and Newcomer of the Year, All-Defensive Team selection, and Lou Henson Award finalist – and Ja’Monta Black, who received Second Team All-Conference honors. The duo also was named to the National Association of Basketball Coaches Division I All-District 22 Team.
Prior to his arrival in Natchitoches, Louisiana, Hamilton spent four seasons (2018-22) as Memphis’ director of basketball operations under head coach Penny Hardaway.
The Tigers had the nation’s No. 1 recruiting class in 2022. It was highlighted by two NBA Draft picks in Jalen Duren (No. 13, Detroit Pistons) and Josh Minott (No. 45, Charlotte Hornets). That group came two years after Memphis produced its first top-ranked recruiting class with first-round NBA Draft picks in James Wiseman (No. 2, Golden State Warriors) and Precious Achiuwa (No. 20, Miami).
Hamilton spent six seasons (2012-18) as an assistant coach at Tennessee State. The Tigers produced three winning seasons with Hamilton on staff, including a 20-win, 2018 campaign in which Tennessee State made its first appearance in a national postseason tournament at the CollegeInsider.com Tournament.
During his time in Nashville, Hamilton also coached Robert Covington, who currently is on the Los Angeles Clippers and is the lone NBA player hailing from a Historically Black College and University (HBCU).
Prior to joining Tennessee State’s staff, Hamilton spent three seasons as the head women’s basketball coach at Indiana Tech (2009-12). Hamilton went 40-53 during his time in Fort Wayne, Indiana after taking over a program that had gone just 1-30 two seasons before his arrival.
Hamilton’s Division I coaching career began at Southeast Missouri where he spent three seasons (2007-09) with the Redhawks as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator.
Before his time in Cape Girardeau, Missouri, Hamilton was an assistant coach at Crichton College (2005-07). Hamilton helped lead Crichton to an 18-12 record, a third-place finish in the TranSouth Athletic Conference and a then program-record No. 13 ranking in the NAIA Top 25 National Rankings during the 2005-06 season.
Crichton won the TSAC Regular Season and Tournament Championship in 2007 and finished the season ranked No. 7 in the country after reaching the NAIA Championship Elite Eight.
Hamilton helped coach four student-athletes to All-TSAC postseason honors during his time at Crichton.
After trying out for the Atlanta Hawks following his senior season at Georgia State, Hamilton spent four seasons playing professionally overseas in Sweden, Switzerland and Hungary.
Hamilton’s first professional season was with 08 Stockholm, where the team won the inaugural Swedish-Finish League Championship in 1999. He then played for Fribourg Olympic of the Swiss Basketball League and was named a Ligue Nationale de Basket (LNBA) All-Star in 2000.
Hamilton’s final two professional seasons were with Boras Basket of the Sweedish Basketball League and Budapesti Honvéd SE of the Nemzeti Bajnokság league in Hungary.
Hamilton played collegiately at Georgia State where he became the first player in program history to have his jersey retired. He is third all-time in points (1,515) and still holds the program record for assists (535), steals (212) and starts (105) and is second all-time in free-throw percentage (83.8). He also still holds the single-game record with 14 assists in a Jan. 1996 win against Florida International.
Hamilton led GSU in assists per game during all four seasons in Atlanta and led the Panthers in scoring in both his junior and senior seasons with 16.0 and 18.0 points per game, respectively.
Hamilton earned First Team Atlantic Sun All-Conference honors during his senior season in 1998 after earning Second Team All-Conference honors as a junior. He also earned Atlantic Sun All-Academic honors both seasons.
Hamilton earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration with a concentration in management from Georgia State in 1998 before earned his master’s degree in education from Christian Brothers in 2003.
He and his wife, Tamara, have three daughters: Bailey, Brooke and Bella.
Hamilton’s Coaching Career
Austin Peay (2023-Pres.) – Associate Head Coach
Northwestern State (2022-2023) – Associate Head Coach
Memphis (2018-22) – Director of Basketball Operations
Tennessee State (2012-18) – Assistant Coach
Indiana Tech (2009-12) – Head Women’s Basketball Coach
Southeast Missouri (2007-09) – Assistant Coach
Crichton College (2005-07) – Assistant Coach
Westside High School (2001-05) –Head Coach
Hamilton’s Playing Career
Overseas
Honvéd (2001)
M7 Basket (2000-01)
Fribourg (1999-00)
08 Stockholm (1998-99)
College
Georgia State (1994-98)
