Detroit Pistons legend Rip Hamilton eager to watch his son at Oakland

Rip Hamilton is eager for his eldest son to begin his college basketball career, not far from the site of the former Palace of Auburn Hills.

The Detroit Pistons legend and his two sons – Deuce, and Parker – were present at a youth golf clinic at Belle Isle Golf Center on Thursday, July 23. Deuce, the elder son, is entering his freshman year with the Oakland Golden Grizzlies, where he will play for long-tenured head coach Greg Campe.

Born in 2007, Deuce entered the world in the middle of his dad’s nine-year career with the Pistons from 2002-11. He recently completed his senior year at Oakwood in North Hollywood, California, and committed to Oakland in March.

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“He spent his first, you know, a lot of his childhood here,” Hamilton told the Free Press. “And to get an opportunity to come back and play in front of, I always say the greatest fans in the world. 
The State of Michigan is a blessing. But also Coach Kampe. Coach Kampe is a great coach, a great man, a great mentor, for these kids, and I just wanted him to be around a teacher, right? 
Someone that knows how to teach, not just own the court, but off the court. Also, because when playing basketball is bigger than just the game. You know, it’s the life lessons that you learn with it.”

The Hamilton clan were clad in golf attire in partnership with Golf With Us, a free clinic sponsored by Bank of America where Rip coached more than 50 children from Detroit PAL, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Detroit and First Tee Greater Detroit. Hamilton is passionate about golf at this stage of his career, but stays close to basketball through his children.

Deuce has similar dimensions as his father, measuring at 6-foot-6 and 173 pounds.

“I came into college at 165 pounds, you know, so I was a skinny kid trying to find my way,” said Hamilton, who starred at UConn and was named Most Valuable Player of of the 1999 Final Four after leading them to a title. “And he’s doing the same thing, too. The one thing that I love about him is he wants to create his own path. I don’t put no pressure on him to be like me or play like me. No, you be you. Both of my boys.”

Hamilton was in attendance for several of the Pistons’ home playoff games this past season. The Pistons exceeded expectations with 60 regular season wins, but fell to the Cleveland Cavaliers in seven games during Round 2. The turnaround in two seasons, from 14 wins to a conference contenders, has been “absolutely amazing,” he said, and Cade Cunningham is a big reason why.

“The one thing that I can say is a lot of that has to do with Cade Cunningham,” Hamilton said. “I mean, Cade is healthy, right? He’s been going through different injuries, had to get surgery, had to get back, get his body back in shape. Always been a great leader.
Duren has made a jump. We had a lot of the core young guys that I thought the team stuck with, instead of saying, ‘All right, we’re going to package a group of young guys and try to get a big free agent.’ They stuck with their core.

“So I just believe that time will tell, man. I think we got the right pieces to be great. We’ve got the right players, we’ve got the right demeanor, the guys like each other, which is huge. We’ve got a lot of great upside.”

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This is the best Pistons team since Hamilton was a three-time All-Star during the “Goin’ To Work” era, which featured six straight Eastern Conference Finals from 2002-08 and back-to-back Finals appearance. They took home the franchise’s third title in 2004, but fell to the San Antonio Spurs on the same stage a year later.

Hamilton contrasted this Pistons team from his team, noting that the roster skews younger. Cunningham is 24, Ausar Thompson is 23 and Jalen Duren – still an unsigned restricted free agent – is 22. He noted that president Trajan Langdon has had to bring in veterans, whereas Hamilton and his teammates were deeper in their careers during their contending window.

On Langdon, Hamilton said his career as a former Duke standout and star overseas in Russia, along with his experience as an executive, has helped him find success leading Detroit’s front office.

“When you see him walk around the locker room, he doesn’t walk around like he’s on this pedestal,” Hamilton said. “He was a player.
He understands the perspective of a player, and what guys are going through, and all the things that they have to deal with, and really knows how to communicate with the players, but also the organization. I think that’s a huge plus. Trajan’s been through a lot battles as an athlete. So he can see both sides of the spectrum.”

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Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on X and/or Bluesky.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons legend Rip Hamilton eager to watch his son at Oakland