Justin Hamilton

**PGreen ISU '92** · 03-07-2009, 04:58 PM

I like Big Ham alot; however, he needs to be meaner and I don't know if you can teach that.

**joefrog** · 03-07-2009, 05:00 PM

Big Ham rocks! I like the physical tools he has, and he does get fired up. He really gets after it down low. I think he is much better than he was in game 1, and if I am remembering correctly, I would say he is better at the end of his freshman year than Homan was. Will he end up as well? Who knows, it is up to Ham and McD.

If he could get anywhere near the player Homan ended up, we are going to have a fun couple of years ahead of us.

**mwitt** · 03-07-2009, 11:11 PM

As was mentioned earlier, he needs to play a hell of a lot meaner. Play more physical defense, don't allow easy baskets in the paint, and become a respectable rebounder. I hope these are things Pomlee can bring.

**JP4CY** · 03-07-2009, 11:17 PM

Originally Posted by IcSyU

One thing I would like to see is him to get ****** off. He just looks so mellow and I'd love to just see him ****** and aggressive.

I think all over our players need a little bit of that. It can be that mental edge of, I'm not going to drive against "that guy."
Hopefully Gilstrap will be that next year, just the little bit of tough mean streak that can go thru a guy. When I look at Blair at Pitt, I think that the mean tough attitude that guy has is what we need to improve on.

**Skyh13** · 03-07-2009, 11:18 PM

Originally Posted by mwitt

As was mentioned earlier, he needs to play a hell of a lot meaner. Play more physical defense, don't allow easy baskets in the paint, and become a respectable rebounder. I hope these are things Pomlee can bring.

That's one guy I keep forgetting about for next year.. Should be interesting to see how he fits in.

That being said, I certainly think Ham has potential, and although it's not as though he's terribly athletic, he's in a position where that probably won't hurt him too much since he can be strong and has good hands.

**Ficklone02** · 03-07-2009, 11:22 PM

I think his frame is good enough right now for the big 12...a little more muscle won't hurt, but mostly I think he needs to work on his agility aka his footwork. The main thing he seems to have going for him is his eagerness to learn and work hard.

**kucyclone** · 03-07-2009, 11:40 PM

Freshman bigs often have more trouble adjusting to the college games than guards. When you add the fact that the kid hasn't been playing ball for too long, it would have been very difficult to expect much more out of him in his first season in a very good conference. I liked what I saw from him in the 10 or so games that I caught in terms of being a decent defensive presence and rebounder.

However, expecting anything close to an Aldrich-type jump from freshman to sophomore is really unfair to Hamilton. Aldrich was a McD All-American who was behind three guys who are all making a lot of money playing basketball right now. So I'm not sure how much of it is improvement and how much of it is simply opportunity. Also, I think McDermott is a very good big man coach, but Aldrich is being tutored by Danny Manning on a daily basis, who has done an absolutely phenomenal job with KU's bigs.

I hesitate to put forth expectations in terms of minutes, points, and rebounds for next year, for the simple reason that it will be four months before we know if Brackins will be back in Ames next year. If Brackins is still around, Hamilton won't play more than 20 minutes a game and you won't see much of a jump in his stats. If Brackins leaves, though, there's 30+ minutes per game that needs to be filled by someone and 15-25 offensive possessions where someone else is going to have to take a shot.

**kingcy** · 03-08-2009, 12:59 AM

He is going to be a nice player. He is a natural athlete and has a knack for finding the ball. He seems like a smart player as well. He has a nice shot but needs to work on a few things. Once he figures it all out and how to use that body better he will be a great one.

**LindenCy** · 03-08-2009, 01:01 AM

For a freshman, he had a great year and was a bright spot in the newcomers. He has some upside. To get as many minutes as he has as a freshman big man isn't too shabby.

**candg4ever** · 03-08-2009, 08:18 AM

IMO JH will still be a work in progress next year. He needs to add some muscle and work on some post moves, and develop a mid-range jumper. He's quick enough to step by defenders if they have to honor a decent jump shot. He's got a ways to go on the defensive end before he can stay with the upper class of the conference.

The way he played this year gives a lot of reason for hope, but I would suggest patience. He'll be better next year, probably as valuable as Alex Thompson was to us this year, plus some. I would really like to see him play with a little more additude, with his size, he shouldn't be floating little 2-3 ft. jump hooks, he should be jamming the rock down the other team's throat!

We'll be better next year, leaning towards good, will finish in the top half of the conference and will make the tourney for the first time in a while, but I'm looking for 2011 as a possible break-out year that puts coach McD on the national radar, and gets us some much needed respect on the court that we haven't received in quite a while. One thing I will guarante....

HILTON MAGIC WILL BE BACK!!!

**BryceC** · 03-08-2009, 08:23 AM

Hamilton will be a good one but I still don't think we'll see a lot of numbers from him next year. He does a good job defending and rebounding but as others have said he can improve there and especially offensively. Moves well though so he has he physical tools IMO.

**isucy86** · 03-08-2009, 07:23 PM

I like Justin's potential, but like other people have stated he is probably another year from being a 10-12ppg & 6-8rpg kind of player. I'd be happy if next year he is a consistent 8ppg/5rpg kind of player.

The one concern I do have is that true centers are becoming role players- depending on match-ups. Hamilton is a valuable kid when the opponent has a true low post player, but his minutes suffer when the opponent has post players that like the perimeter.

IMO for Justin to get 30mpg consistently, he is going to have to develop a couple strong post moves so he can consistently make opponents pay for using undersized post players.

**zach** · 03-08-2009, 08:45 PM

Originally Posted by mwitt

As was mentioned earlier, he needs to play a hell of a lot meaner. Play more physical defense, don't allow easy baskets in the paint, and become a respectable rebounder. I hope these are things Pomlee can bring.

I would like to see the whole team play with a chip on their shoulder, quite frankly it would do all of them well!

I think JH is more atheltic than most think at this point. Can you imagine putting on 30-40 lbs over the last year and try to be athletic. Most of us would have problems going up stairs. I think he is going to be much more athletic than Homan, big time. He just needs, Homans, I am going to kick your butt if you steal my cow, attitude!

Speaking of big guys, I really did enjoyed watching Homan, Vroman, and Fizer each a diffferent reason though! Vroman is one of my all time fav!

Z