George Fox University

Maco "Shark" Hamilton, enters his 12th season as the head men's basketball coach for George Fox in 2024-25. Hamilton took charge of the George Fox program prior to the 2013-14 season after building Union HS in Camas, Wash., into the powerhouse program it still is today.

Hamilton was Union's first boys' basketball coach when the school opened in 2007. In 2009-10, his team won the Washington state championship in Class 3A, the state's second-highest classification. He was named the 2010 Washington Interscholastic Basketball Coaches Association 3A Coach of the Year for that accomplishment. He also won or shared the 4A Greater St. Helens League Coach of the Year awards each of his last three seasons.

With teams known for their fast-paced offenses and pressure defenses, Union went 95-56 (.629) under Hamilton in its first six years of existence, winning three league and two district titles, three state tournament trophies, and one state championship. Union finished seventh in the 2008-09 3A state tournament and third in the 2011-12 4A state tournament.

Hamilton and his staff have helped the Bruins climb the Northwest Conference standings through the COVID year and through the 2021-22 season, jumping from the bottom of the conference into sixth in 2021-22. Zac Schmerber was named All-NWC Honorable mention and the Bruins finished 6-10 in conference. Despite the losing record on paper, Fox was always competitive and many of their losses were decided by five points or less.

In his first season (2013-14), the Bruins went 16-9 and 9-7 in conference play. They averaged 88.5 points per game, which ranked them among the Top 10 in NCAA Division III. In his second season (2014-15), Hamilton led the Bruins to a 5-20 record and 3-13 in the Northwest Conference. The Bruins were third in the NWC in points per game with 75.4 and second in 3-point attempts and makes with 216 and 619, respectively. 

In the 2015-16 season, the Bruins went 7-18 and 4-12 in conference play. They averaged 72.8 points per game and made the second-most threes in the NWC (218). The Bruins were also T-third in the NWC in 3-point percentage (37.2). The Bruins moved up in the rankings on defense as well with an average of 9.1 steals per game, which was the second-best in the conference. 

In the 2016-17 season, Hamilton guided the Bruins to their best conference finish since the 2012-13 season with a fourth seed in the Northwest Conference Tournament. It marked just the fourth time the Bruins reached the tournament since the program joined the NWC in 1995-96. The Bruins went 10-16 on the season and 8-8 in conference play. Senior JJ Lacey eclipsed 1,000 points in his career, and Hamilton graduated his first four-year class. The Bruins were second in the conference in 3-point pct. (38.8), but recorded 100 more attempts than the conference best. Hamilton had two players earn All-NWC, as Lacey was named All-NWC first team and Thomas Rico earned All-NWC honorable mention. 

The Bruins finished 8-17 on the season and 4-12 in the Northwest Conference in 2017-18. They were led by junior Mason Green-Richards, senior Thomas Rico, and newcomer Ryan Lacey. Green-Richards moved to eighth all-time after averaging 20.8 points per game on the season. Rico finished his four-year career as a 1,000-point scorer and finished 17th all-time in career scoring with 1,226 points. Green-Richards was selected All-NWC second-team, while Rico grabbed his second straight All-NWC honorable mention. 

After finishing nine games under .500 in 2017-18, the Bruins bounced back to a 13-12 overall record and a 7-9 mark in Northwest Conference play during the 2018-19 season. Seniors Mason Green-Richards and Dylan Hamlett combined with sophomore Ryan Lacey to lead the Bruins, and Green-Richards became the Bruins' third consecutive 1000-point player during the year, joining Thomas Rico and J.J. Lacey as the fourth player to eclipse the 1000-point threshold under Hamilton and the third in as many seasons.

The Bruins went 8-17 in 2019-20 and 4-12 in Northwest Conference competition after battling injuries at various stages throughout the season. Ryan Lacey earned Second Team All-NWC honors and passed his brother JJ on the all-time scoring list at George Fox during the season to become the fourth player in consecutive seasons to hit the 1000-point mark in their career.

Hamilton and his staff have helped the Bruins climb the Northwest Conference standings through the COVID year and through the 2021-22 season, jumping from the bottom of the conference into sixth in 2021-22. Zac Schmerber was named All-NWC Honorable mention and the Bruins finished 6-10 in conference. Despite the losing record on paper, Fox was always competitive and many of their losses were decided by five points or less.

The 2022-23 season was a banner year for the men's basketball program. After going 1-7 in nonconference play, the Bruins rallied to finish 8-8 in NWC play, beating Whitworth for the first time since 2014 and dowing Pacific, 59-57, to clinch their first conference tournament appearance in five seasons. Chris Nickelberry was named Second Team All-NWC as Fox finished fourth in the league, falling to top-seeded Whitman in the first round of the tournament. 

Hamilton led the Bruins to yet another winning season in 2023-24, finishing 14-11 overall. Despite finishing a mere 2 games outside the conference tournament, the Bruins had some stellar performances in the preseason, including defeating #14 Emory, 85-82, and #23 Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, 88-84. Momo Stokes was named First Team All-NWC as the Bruins concluded the season 6th in the conference standings. 

Hamilton has strong basketball connections in Oregon and Washington. He played at Fort Vancouver High School, Mt. Hood Community College (1998-99) and Eastern Oregon University (1999-01). He has assisted at Mountain View High School in Vancouver (2001-03; 04-06), the University of Portland (2003-04) and Ridgefield (Wash.) High School (2006-07).

A 2001 graduate of Eastern Oregon in business administration management, Hamilton worked as a multicultural youth outreach coordinator and student advocate at Mountain View (2001-06) and as a guidance counselor at Ridgefield (2006-07) and Union (2007-13). He earned his master’s in education from City University in Vancouver in 2006.

Hamilton serves on the board of Courts for Kids, a nonprofit organization that sends sports teams to economically disadvantaged areas where they partner with local organizations to build courts for use by youth. He has joined Courts for Kids trips to the Philippines, Uganda, and Costa Rica. Recently, he joined a U.S. Department of State-funded trip to lead a coaches' clinic in Uganda, where he worked with more than 200 coaches. In 2001, he played on an Athletes in Action basketball team that traveled through Kenya playing professional teams.

Hamilton and his wife Shayna have three beautiful children, Mia, Kyrie, and Naomi. They reside in Camas, Washington.

George Fox Milestones 

1st win - at Redlands W, 98-78 - Nov. 15, 2013

25th win - at Lewis & Clark, 77-73 - Jan. 8, 2016

50th win - at Lewis & Clark, 94-78 - Nov. 30, 2018

75th win - vs Pacific, 71-69 - Dec. 3, 2021

100th win - at Maryville, 97-84, Dec, 29, 2023