30 years since NBA draft, faith rerouted Steve Hamer’s path back to Tennessee
SPORTS
Steve Hamer always believed God had a plan for his life. Like a lot of young believers, he had no idea how many times that plan would look nothing like the one he’d drawn up for himself.
He was sitting in his living room on June 26, 1996, his mother, Gracie, on one side and his father, Robert, on the other, when the Boston Celtics selected him with 38th overall in the second round of the NBA draft.
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When the moment finally came, he cried hard enough that it caught everyone in the room off guard, himself included. One of his brothers rushed over and threw an arm around him, confused why he was crying. Hamer could barely get the words out.
“I did it,” he said. “I beat the odds. I had a lot of naysayers in my life that told me I wasn’t good enough, I wasn’t smart enough, I didn’t look the part, I wasn’t athletic … and I did it. I did it.”
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Vols basketball Steve Hamer through the years
Steve Hamer pictured in 1992.
(News Sentinel Photo Archive)
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Vols basketball Steve Hamer through the years
Steve Hamer pictured in 1992.
(News Sentinel Photo Archive)
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Vols basketball Steve Hamer through the years
Tennessee’s Steve Hamer takes control. November 17, 1993.
(News Sentinel Archvies)
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Vols basketball Steve Hamer through the years
The Apostolic Christian School boys’ team recently won the championship basketball title during the 2004 National Apostolic Christian Schools’ Competition. The team finished its season with a 27-0 record, which extended the team’s winning streak to 81. From left, front row, are assistant coach Steve Hamer, Victor Garcia, Trent Magdos, Nathan Milstead, Anthony McCool, head coach Gino Magdos; second row, Antoni Magdos, Austin Magdos, Danny Triplett, Brandon Lee, Benyx Garcia and Tiras Hudson.
(Submitted)
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Vols basketball Steve Hamer through the years
Vols will stick their guns despite Steve Hamer’s Absence. Published February 10, 1995.
(News Sentinel Archvies)
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Vols basketball Steve Hamer through the years
Steve Hamer and Brad Lampley spoke to a student body at Ridgedale Elementary about staying in school and getting a good education in November 1992.
(News Sentinel Photo Archive)
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Vols basketball Steve Hamer through the years
Whitney Wilgus, Donna Brown, Steve Hamer, Holly Warlick and Lee Patouillet in the West Club of Neyland Stadium for the UTK Alumni Association’s Tip Off BBQ.
(submitted)
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Vols basketball Steve Hamer through the years
Antonio McDyess and Roy Rogers put the squeeze on the Vols’ Steve Hamer during Alabama’s 69-46 victory over UT. January 28, 1995.
(News Sentinel Archvies)
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Vols basketball Steve Hamer through the years
Tennessee center Steve Hamer goes airborne to yank down a rebound against Brazil in Saturday’s exhibition game. November 11, 1995.
(News Sentinel Archvies)
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Vols basketball Steve Hamer through the years
Steve Hamer, Athletics Discovery Coordinator with the Tennessee Fund and University of Tennessee basketball player 1992-94, former Boston Celtic and graduate of UTK in 2020.
(Courtesy of Steve Hamer)
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Vols basketball Steve Hamer through the years
Steve Hamer makes a jumper over North Carolina-Charlotte defenders. November 29, 1995.
(News Sentinel Archvies)
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Vols basketball Steve Hamer through the years
University of Tennessee basketball coach Kevin O’Neill poses for a team photo with players Stanley Caldwell, left, Steve Hamer, and Eldrick Bohannon during media day Oct. 11, 1994, at Thompson-Boling Arena.
(News Sentinel)
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Vols basketball Steve Hamer through the years
Towson State’s Stevie Thomas applies the pressure to Tennessee’s Steve Hamer. February 27, 1995.
(News Sentinel Archvies)
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Vols basketball Steve Hamer through the years
Steve Hamer dunks the ball for a win over Furman 68-51 in 1994.
(News Sentinel Photo Archive)
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Vols basketball Steve Hamer through the years
Morehead’s Colbert Ivan and Steve Hamer do a little elbow rubbing as Hamer starts to take the ball up the court during a game in 1994.
(News Sentinel Photo Archive)
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Vols basketball Steve Hamer through the years
UT’s Steve Hamer gets the rebound above Vandy’s Malik Evans as Kevin Whitted waits below. March 1, 1995.
(News Sentinel Archvies)
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Vols basketball Steve Hamer through the years
Tennessee’s Steve Hamer tries to stop Western Carolina’s Scott Scholtz. December 6, 1995.
(News Sentinel Archvies)
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Vols basketball Steve Hamer through the years
Tennessee’s Scott Moore gets some pressure from Teammate Steve Hamer during practice. October 16, 1995.
(News Sentinel Archvies)
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Vols basketball Steve Hamer through the years
Steve Hamer gets his journalistic feet wet by interviewing teammate Gannon Goodson. October 27, 1992.
(News Sentinel Archvies)
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Vols basketball Steve Hamer through the years
UT’s Steve Hamer, who scored 10 points, is cornered by Vince Brown (left) and Aubry Boyd of the Verich Reps. November 21, 1993.
(News Sentinel Archvies)
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Vols basketball Steve Hamer through the years
Steve Hamer shoots a point during a game against Western Carolina in 1993.
(News Sentinel Photo Archive)
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Vols basketball Steve Hamer through the years
Steve Hamer cries into his shirt after losing to Florida on a last second shot at Thompson-Boling Arena during senior night in March 1996.
(News Sentinel Photo Archive)
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Vols basketball Steve Hamer through the years
Steve Hamer gets his shot blocked with no foul by Mississippi State’s Erick Dampier in February 1995.
(News Sentinel Photo Archive)
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Vols basketball Steve Hamer through the years
Tennessee’s Steve Hamer dunks during practice Tuesday. March 12, 1996.
(News Sentinel Archvies)
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Vols basketball Steve Hamer through the years
Steve Hamer. Published October 11, 1995.
(News Sentinel Archvies)
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Vols basketball Steve Hamer through the years
Steve Hamer looks to pass during a game against Georgia in 1996.
(News Sentinel Photo Archive)
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Vols basketball Steve Hamer through the years
Tennessee Tech’s Carlos Floyd (21) and Greg Bibb (34) defend against Steve Hamer during a game in 1996.
(News Sentinel Photo Archive)
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Vols basketball Steve Hamer through the years
Steve Hamer and Florida’s Andrew DeClerq go after a ball during a game in January 1995.
(News Sentinel Photo Archive)
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Vols basketball Steve Hamer through the years
Tennessee’s Steve Hamer and Gannon Goodson celebrate the Vols’ third victory of the seasons, a 92-85 win over Auburn in January 1994.
(News Sentinel Archives)
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Vols basketball Steve Hamer through the years
Steve Hamer and the Vols hope they can bring Roy Rogers and the Tide back down to Earth. Published March 9, 1995.
(News Sentinel Archvies)
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Vols basketball Steve Hamer through the years
Tennessee 7-footer Steve Hamer makes finding an opening tough for Radford’s Chris Harvey (6-5). January 13, 1993.
(News Sentinel Archvies)
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Vols basketball Steve Hamer through the years
Steve Hamer throws up a hook shot over Austin Peay’s Eddie Perdue. December 9, 1995.
(News Sentinel Archvies)
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Vols basketball Steve Hamer through the years
Tennessee’s Steve Hamer will have his hands full against Memphis’ Lorenzen Wright. Published December 15, 1995.
(News Sentinel Archvies)
If you asked the 7-foot Hamer then, he would have told you it was the beginning of a long NBA career, with coaching to follow once he was done playing. But his time in the NBA lasted one season and just 35 games.
What came after, however, he now calls a “wonderful life.”
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Steve Hamer wanted to play baseball, but was 6-5 in 6th grade
The redirection started before he ever thought of playing basketball. Hamer wanted to play baseball growing up in Grand Junction, Tennessee, population around 330. Then he grew to 6-5 in sixth grade and suddenly basketball became the obvious choice.
Hamer went on to lead Middleton to the 1992 Tennessee Class A state championship, earning the title of that season’s Mr. Basketball in the state.
Then, it happened again during the recruiting process. All signs pointed for Hamer to pick Louisville, and had already taken his visit. A snowstorm wiped out his Arkansas visit, and instead sent him to Knoxville and Tennessee coach Wade Houston, something his parents called “a sign from God.”
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On his Tennessee visit, he ran into his basketball hero, Louisville star player Pervis Ellison, who was there to deliver a surprising message. Ellison told him to go to Tennessee.
“You can go to Louisville and be one of many,” Hamer remembered him saying. “Or you can come to Tennessee and be one of one.”
He committed on the spot.
NBA career lasted one season with Celtics
After his senior season, Hamer was a two-time All-SEC center, averaging 18.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per game and was off to the NBA.
A week before his rookie season ended, he sat in a hotel lobby with the Celtics general manager Jan Volk discussing a contract extension. He told his family it was going to be great.
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Thirty days later, he picked up a copy of the Knoxville News Sentinel at Food City and under transactions in the sports section he saw it: the Boston Celtics waive Steve Hamer.
No call. No explanation. Just his name in the paper.
“I saw myself through the lens in which everyone else saw me,” Hamer said. “That wasn’t Steve Hamer the person. It was Steve Hamer the basketball player. That’s how I found myself identifying, too.”
A torn meniscus in his right knee was the injury that ended it. A doctor had warned him during his senior year at UT that his knees only had so much basketball left in them. He didn’t believe it.
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“God had other plans,” Hamer said. “It wasn’t until many years later that I understood. That’s not why I’m here on this earth.”
He leans on a line now: “There’s no growth in the comfort zone, only in the growth zone.” A long, comfortable career would have kept him from finding out what else life had to offer.
What life had to offer, it turned out, included his wife, Cher.
Life after the NBA, return to Knoxville
Not long after his NBA career ended, Hamer was at dinner with friends at O’Charley’s on the Strip. He got up for the restroom, opened the door from the patio, and there she was.
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“A God moment,” he called it.
That was May 9, 1999, a date Hamer has never forgotten because it’s also Cher’s birthday.
They married and have spent more than 20 years raising their three children: Isabella, a UT graduate who’s fresh off a master’s degree from Lipscomb; Malachi, graduating from Tennessee in 2027; and Penelope, an eighth grader.
Hamer’s voice catches when he talks about them.
“They are my why,” he said. “They are the reason I do everything I do every day.”
In the end, Hamer accomplished most of his life goals, just not the way he envisioned.
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“I look back at that jersey and sometimes I don’t recognize that person,” Hamer said, pointing to his Celtics jersey hanging in his office. “I’ve lived more of my life without playing the game of basketball than I did playing.”
Hamer earned his degree from Tennessee in 2020 with a bachelor degree in journalism. Now at 52, he’s a color analyst for Vol Network men’s basketball games and works for UT as director of letterwinner relations, helping former athletes stay connected after their eligibility runs out.
Former Tennessee basketball star Dalton Knecht, the 2024 SEC Player of the Year and entering his third season in the NBA with the Los Angeles Lakers, recently stopped by his office.
“For him to grab me and give me a big hug, that means everything,” Hamer said. “That means I’m doing my job.”
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Thirty years later, Hamer says he wouldn’t trade a single detour for his original plans.
“The two things I’ve always wanted to do since I was young,” he said. “We play basketball at the highest level, and sit courtside and be a commentator. I thought that was the coolest thing on earth. You get to sit there and talk about basketball and get paid for it, it’s like a paid vacation. God allowed me to do both of those things.”
When asked what he’d tell the 22-year-old who heard his name called on draft night, certain of his future, Hamer didn’t hesitate.
“Be courageous,” he said. “Everything’s gonna be OK. You see yourself as a basketball player right now, but there’s so much more inside of you. Take a leap of faith.”
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