Hamilton a bright spot for Cyclones

A bright spot during what's been a disappointing Big 12 Conference season for Iowa State's men's basketball team has been the continued improvement of big man Justin Hamilton.

'He's playing the best basketball of his career,' Coach Greg McDermott said.

That's not saying a whole lot, considering Hamilton's career on the hardwood has spanned all of five years. The 6foot-11, 255-pound center has gone from project to starter, and heading into Wednesday's 7 p.m. home game against Oklahoma State is a player ISU (1312, 2-8 Big 12) would be completely lost without.

Hamilton is averaging 8.6 points and 1O.O rebounds over the last five games, including a pair of double-doubles. He went up against Kansas AilAmerican Cole Aldrich last Saturday and more than held his own with 11 points and 12 rebounds.

Hamilton also measured up on the defensive end.

'To know that I can play with the best and know that I didn't have my best game is pretty fun,' he said. 'I feel like my game is coming along.' Craig Brackins is continually impressed by Hamilton's work ethic and attitude.

'He's just a sponge trying to learn,' said ISU's all-Big 12 forward. 'He works unbelievably hard. He challenges me and asks what he can do to get better. He wants to be that guy you can always count on.' Hamilton's progress since ISU started recruiting him is 'off the charts,' McDermott said.

He had just one season of varsity experience at Lone Peak (Utah) High School. Hamilton's parents both were athletes at Brigham Young University, but he hadn't so much as picked up a basketball until he was 15. 'He hasn't played a lot of basketball in his life,' McDermott said. 'There are things that come naturally to a lot of players that he is still learning.' Lately he's been rebounding and defending like he's been doing it for years. Hamilton has been the Cyclones' most accurate shooter all season, shooting 65.9 percent (56 of 85) from the field. He also leads the team in charges taken, is ISU's best screener and does much more than shows up on a stat sheet.

"I couldn't be more pleased," McDermott said. "He's really elevated his game and there's a level of confidence now that has never been there. He's really producing on game night.' And Hamilton knows he can do more than the dirty work. He's only averaging 6.1 points a game. Brackins talks to him about being more offensive-minded and unafraid to shoot from 12 to 15 feet out. How dangerous of a player could he be if he adds that to his game over his final two years? 'I think that our fans are seeing that he has a chance to be a pretty special player before it is all over," McDermott said.