CBS 58's Hometown Athlete: Racine St. Catherine's Lamont Hamilton climbs to the top of the record books

RACINE, Wis. (CBS 58) -- The name Lamont Hamilton is well known in Racine, but the Racine St. Catherine's senior is better known as "Doodie."

"One of my mom's friends, she called me her little Doodie Bug ever since I was little," said Hamilton. "Growing up, everybody used to say 'Doodie.'"

This basketball season, Hamilton has added a new nickname: Mr. Two Thousand.

"I just love the game, for real. I play with a lot of passion," said Hamilton. "When I'm out there, it's really just a kill-mode type of mentality."

"He's just a competitor. He gets after it," said Ryan Thompson, Racine St. Catherine's basketball head coach. "When he's presented with a challenge, he steps right up and meets it. He doesn’t just want to meet it, he wants to win the challenge, and he'll give you everything he's got to do that."

Hamilton's personal challenge was becoming Racine County's all-time leading scorer. He passed the 2,000-point threshold this season, and then in a regular season game with Nicolet High School, he reached his mark. Only needing 9 points for the record, he scored 52 points. Now, with the conclusion of the regular season, Hamilton has 2,150 points.

"That's just so many points," said Thompson. "Couldn't happen to a better kid because he just puts in the work. So nice when young people, when they put in the work to get the result."

"Been a lot of great hoopers and a lot of great people to come out of Racine, so it's a lot of good talent around here. And to be one of the top names to come out of here is definitely a blessing," said Hamilton.

Hamilton passes someone he worked out with when younger, J.C. Butler, the son of former NBA player and current Miami Heat Assistant Coach Caron Butler. He set the record with 2,090 points while at The Prairie School.

Butler joked that he's the godfather of Racine basketball and is fortunate he gets to see work ethic pay off.

"He's one of those individuals that got up early mornings with his mom, with his father, came to the Bray Center, got some work in. It was very uncomfortable, very unpleasant, my workout sessions. But he went through that process and he wanted more," said Caron Butler, at a recent Miami Heat shootaround. "He's one of those guys that really put the work in and I'm just happy to see it pay off."

"Unfortunately for my son, he's number two now, but I think he's okay with that because his legacy is still intact. They're still talking about him so I'm just happy for the young men."

Gratitude comes to mind for Hamilton's journey.

"I'm blessed for a lot of people that did things for me in my life," said Hamilton. "My mom, my pops, my siblings and a lot of my close friends and their family, so a lot of people ...they kinda been in my corner."

This fall, the history maker will actually be playing football for Minnesota. While he says he's ready to row that boat, the rallying cry of the Golden Gophers, he first wants to do on the basketball court what he helped the Angels do on the football field: bring home a gold ball and a state championship.

"We been playing with each other our whole life. This senior group is really special, so I feel like we just one last ride and we just playing for each other, for real," said Hamilton.

The Angels last won a state title in 2021.

Racine St. Catherine's will start the postseason Friday, March 6, against St. Francis or St. Thomas More.