Hamilton drafted in second round After being drafted by the Philadelphia 76ers with the 45th overall pick of the 2012 NBA Draft on Thursday, former LSU center Justin Hamilton had his rights traded to the world champion Miami Heat in a deal that involved former Mississippi State power forward Arnett Moultrie. The Alpine, Utah, native became the first Tiger basketball player drafted since 2009, when Marcus Thornton was selected by the New Orleans Hornets in the second round. Hamilton spent two seasons at LSU, transferring from Iowa State after his sophomore season. After redshirting for a year, he led the Tigers inside, averaging 12.9 points per game and 7.2 rebounds while playing in all 33 games. Hamilton said that while he was initially shocked to see his name called, there is still work to be done in the NBA’s Summer League to earn a spot on the Heat roster. “I”m just looking at it like I’m a walk-on player [in college], and I have to earn my scholarship on the team,” Hamilton recently told The Advocate.
Tigers pick up linebacker, tight end LSU scored its 17th and 18th commitments for the class of 2013 last week. Melvin Jones became the 17th commitment for LSU football’s Class of 2013 on Friday and the first linebacker to commit to the Tigers. Jones, of Washington-Marion High School in Lake Charles, was rated a four-star prospect by Rivals, Scout and 24/7 Sports, while ESPN rated him as a three-star player. He is considered the top in-state linebacker prospect for 2013. “It was mainly because I wanted to stay close to home,” Jones told TigerBait.com. “I just decided to call Coach Miles and commit to him. I just thought I was ready.” After spearheading the Washington-Marion defense with 140 tackles last season as a junior, Jones chose the Tigers over new conference foe Texas A&M. Jones is the 10th in-state prospect to pledge to the Tigers for 2013. Barbe tight end DeSean Smith joined Jones as the latest Lake Charles area player to sign with the Tigers. Smith was recruited by new wide receivers coach Adam Jones and had offers from Alabama and Florida, among others. He is the No. 4-rated tight end in the nation and the No. 3 player in Louisiana for 2013, according to Rivals.com.
Savona named Olympic alternate LSU gymnastics signee Jessica Savona narrowly missed qualifying for the Canadian Olympic squad, but will still travel to London as an alternate. After tearing her ACL in July 2011, Savona made a remarkable comeback to finish in seventh place at the Canadian national selection event last week. She was selected as the first alternate on Friday. “The mental commitment Jessica made months ago to reach her dream has been her driving force,” LSU coach D-D Breaux said in a news release. “I am so excited for her that she will have the opportunity to experience the Olympics and represent her country,” If Savona were to see action in London, she would be only the third LSU gymnast to compete in the Olympics, joining fellow Canadians Larissa Lowling in 1988 and Jennifer Wood in 1992. Savona also earned fourth place finishes in the all-around at both the International Gymnix Challenge in March and Canadian Championships in May.
____ Contact The Daily Reveille’s sports staff at [email protected]