GASTON COLLEGE RECORD BOOK: School's most dominant player? You can make a case for Charles Hamilton
(Part 4 of a 10-part series)
Gaston College has been blessed with many talented basketball players in its brief athletic history that lasted eight years from 1964 to 1972 and in its 2021-22 program restart.
With that in mind, it's hard to pick the school's most dominant player.
But Charles Hamilton has quite a compelling argument.
One of the many Kentucky natives recruited to Gaston College by former head coach Pete Brooks, Hamilton's resume' is spectacular.
A muscular 6-foot-4, 220-pound forward from Paducah, Ky., Hamilton finished his Gaston College career as the school's first two-time all-conference performer, its leading all-time scorer and rebounder in addition to leading the school to its first three victories over four-year college freshman teams (two ACC schools and one from the Southern Conference).
As a freshman in the 1968-69 season, Hamilton's initial game provided a glimpse of the player he would become as he scored 36 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in a 82-69 loss at The Citadel's freshman team.
He would finish his career with 1,310 points and 1,041 rebounds in 64 games, which translates into averages of 20.5 points and 16.3 rebounds per game; Teammate Barry Faith would surpass Hamilton as career scoring leader a year later when he finished with 1,533 points to leave Hamilton in second place.
Hamilton was an All-N.C. Community College selection each year as he led Gaston College to 21-11 and 29-4 records, respectively.
The 1968-69 team lost in the NCCC tournament champoinship game while the 1969-70 team won the NCCC tournament championship before advancing into the Region 10 playoffs.
Including his career debut, Hamilton began setting another Gaston College record that still stands with 11 30-point games.
One of those contests saw him score 33 points when Gaston College set a school record with 174 points and a 102-point victory margin in a 174-72 win over Montreat-Anderson at Gastonia's Old Groves.
Hamilton may be most remembered for his efforts in 1969-70 victories at the freshman teams of Clemson and South Carolina when both schools were members of the ACC.
Before Gaston College played at Clemson's Littlejohn Coliseum on Jan. 15, 1970, the school had lost all eight of its matchups against four-year college freshman teams; Until the 1972-73 season, major four-year colleges had freshman teams used to "prepare" their players for the rigors of varsity competition.
Played as the preliminary contest before the University of North Carolina's 96-91 win over the Clemson varsity behind future Naismith Basketball Hall of Famer Charlie Scott's 35 points, Hamilton had 38 points and 23 rebounds as Gaston College knocked off the Clemson freshman 109-105.
Two weeks later, Hamilton's 14-point effort included a 10-foot jumpshot at the buzzer of an 86-85 win over a South Carolina freshman team that included future U.S. Olympian and ABA player Kevin Joyce at the old Carolina Coliseum in Columbia, S.C.
For good measure, nine days after the Clemson win and four days before the South Carolina victory, Hamilton helped Gaston College win 92-80 at the Southern Conference's The Citadel freshman team.
When Hamilton left Gaston College, he attended NAIA power West Georgia where he finished as that school's all-time leading scorer and rebounder in two years with 1,097 points and 1,033 rebounds. The 1972 team that finished his career went 28-6 overall and lost to eventual NAIA national champion Kentucky State in the second round of the NAIA national tournament.