Former UConn great Richard "Rip" Hamilton announced his retirement today.

  He's one of only 40 basketball players to win both an NBA and NCAA championship.

  Hamilton will forever be remembered for helping UConn win its first national championship in 1999, beating Duke, 77-74. He was named the most outstanding player of the Final Four.

  UConn assistant Karl Hobbs recruited Hamilton out of Coatesville (Pa.) High School. During his outstanding college career, Hamilton was a two-time Big East player of the year and finished ranked second on the program's all-time scoring list with 2,036 points in just three season.

 His NBA career lasted 14 seasons. He won a championship with the Detroit Pistons in 2004 and was a three-time NBA all-star. He is Detroit's all-time leading playoff scorer.

 He still has strong ties to the current UConn team. Two of his former teammates, Kevin Freeman and Ricky Moore, are on coach Kevin Ollie's staff.