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UCONN’s Daniel Hamilton Will Sign With An Agent Without Testing Waters

“I’m not testing the waters or anything like that. I’m all in,” said University of Connecticut basketball player Daniel Hamilton to The Courant.

Hamilton made it clear that he will enter the NBA Draft and sign with an agent. He has not yet announced the name of the agent or agency that he will retain.

DraftExpress.com ranks Hamilton as the 21st best sophomore and does not have a prediction as to where he will be selected in the 2016 NBA Draft. Instead, the website projected Hamilton as a 53rd overall pick in the 2017 NBA Draft, assuming that Hamilton would stay in school for another year.

Similarly, NBADraft.net does not currently have projections for Hamilton in the 2016 NBA Draft. It also lists Hamilton as a second round selection in the 2017 NBA Draft, going off the board with the 32nd pick overall.

Thus, Hamilton’s decision to enter the NBA Draft with an agent may be a risky proposition for a player who would have been a rising junior at UCONN. By signing with an agent, Hamilton will immediately forfeit his remaining student-athlete eligibility, rendering him ineligible to compete further in NCAA-related competition.

A more conservative approach would have been for Hamilton to test the waters and refrain from signing with an agent in the immediate future. The “testing the waters” guidelines were actually relaxed under new NCAA regulations, which now allow players up to 10 days after the end of the NBA Draft Combine to pull their names out of the NBA Draft and retain student-athlete eligibility. But that is only for those players who hold off on retaining an agent.

This year, players who properly test the waters will have until May 25 to make a final determination as to whether they wish to go pro or return to school for at least one additional year.

Hamilton hopes his 12.5 points, 8.9 rebounds and 4.7 assists per game this past season boosts his draft stock and justifies his decision to not test the waters “or anything like that.”

By Darren Heitner

Darren Adam Heitner, Esq., is a preeminent sports attorney and the founder of Heitner Legal, P.L.L.C., a Fort Lauderdale-based law firm specializing in sports law, contract negotiations, intellectual property, and arbitration. He earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law in 2010 and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, magna cum laude, from the University of Florida in 2007, where he was named Valedictorian of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. Admitted to practice in the state bars of Florida, New York, and the District of Columbia, as well as multiple federal courts, Darren also serves as a certified arbitrator with the American Arbitration Association.

As an adjunct professor, Darren imparts his expertise through teaching Sports Law at the University of Florida Levin College of Law and Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL) at the University of Miami School of Law in the Entertainment, Arts, and Sports Law LL.M. program. His scholarly contributions include authoring several books published by the American Bar Association, such as How to Play the Game: What Every Sports Attorney Needs to Know, and numerous articles in prominent publications like Forbes, Inc. Magazine, and Above the Law. His thought leadership in NIL has earned him recognition as one of the foremost experts by The Wall Street Journal, USA TODAY, and On3, and he has been lauded as a “power player in NIL deals” by Action Network and a “top sports trademark attorney” by Sportico.

Darren’s passion for sports law led him to establish Sports Agent Blog on December 31, 2005, initially titled “I Want To Be A Sports Agent.” The platform, created as a New Year’s resolution, has grown into a cornerstone of the sports agency community, offering in-depth analysis of industry trends, legal disputes, and agent-player dynamics. His commitment to the field is further evidenced by his representation of numerous athletes and sports agents, as well as his prior role as an Adjunct Professor at Indiana University Bloomington, where he developed and taught a course on Sport Agency Management from 2011 to 2014.

Darren’s contributions have been recognized with prestigious honors, including the University of Florida’s 40 Under 40 Award, the University of Florida Levin College of Law’s Outstanding Young Alumnus Award, and designation as the best lawyer in Fort Lauderdale by Fort Lauderdale Magazine. He remains an active voice in the sports law community, sharing insights through his weekly NIL newsletter and his X posts, engaging a broad audience on legal developments in sports.