From NKAA, Notable Kentucky African Americans Database (main entry)

James Hamilton, Jr., born in Lexington, KY, was an All-American high school basketball player at old Dunbar, coached by S. T. Roach. Hamilton was a 5' 10" guard who played college ball at Christian College of the Southwest, where he was a two-time Junior College All American. [Read more about the junior college in The Handbook of Texas Online.] At North Texas State [now University of North Texas] he was a two-time All-Missouri Valley Conference Player.

Hamilton was also selected as an alternate on the 1968 U.S. Olympics Basketball Team. In 1970, he was drafted by the Texas Chaparrals, an American Basketball Association (ABA) team. He was a member of the ABA's San Antonio Spurs during the 1973-74 season, before being traded to the Kentucky Colonels. He played for the Utah Stars 1975-76.

In 2020, James Hamilton, Jr. was inducted into the Kentucky High School Basketball Hall of Fame (online). In 2025, he was inducted into Dawahares/Kentucky High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame. 

For more see the James "Joe" Hamilton, Jr. entry in the Afro-American Encyclopedia; the Joe Hamilton Wikipedia entry; and the Texas Chaparrals at remembertheaba.com; Staff Report. "Dawahares/KHSAA Hall of Fame Class of 2025 Announced." West Kentucky News, 28 February 2025, p.7.