I admit, I'm one of those people who thought Lone Peak center Justin Hamilton was always going to be just a good warm-up act.

I watched Hamilton in pregame warm-ups last season, and that was the only time I saw him with a basketball in his hands. He could dunk with ease, and his height — now at 6-feet-11 — was something that certainly caught my eye like it did many others.

However, from just watching him in warm-ups, I figured that's where he'd always get most of his on-court time. He just didn't seem all that comfortable with catching the ball, dribbling or even dunking. I figured that if he ever took the court in a varsity game this season, his senior year, that he'd just get pushed around, fumble the ball away whenever he touched it, get into regular foul trouble and have to settle for just being really good at being really tall.

To Hamilton, and his family, I apologize. I really misjudged this teen's heart, desire and potential. I confess now, that he's probably the most-improved prep basketball player that I have ever seen.

When I watched him against Timpanogos a few weeks back, I was stunned at how good a player he has become. I wanted to interrupt the game right then, run out onto the floor and give him a high-five (which would have been a really-high high-five) at midcourt for everyone to see. This kid's progress as a basketball player is amazing. Utah prep basketball fans need to appreciate it.

"His improvement has just been tremendous," Lone Peak coach Quincy Lewis said. "And he's a kid that I think will just continue to get better."

If you haven't seen for yourself, Hamilton does much more for the top-ranked Knights than take up space and tower over people. In that Timpanogos game he scored 18 points, and did it with more than just size. He came back the next game and scored 15. In Region 4 play he's averaging more than 11 points per game.

He has developed into a legitimate post basketball player with many basketball skills. He can shoot away from the basket, he can shoot around the basket, he has good hands at catching the ball, a soft touch around the rim, he knows how to rebound without just reaching, he understands how a guy his size should play defense and he has great footwork. And he's still very tall.

"What people don't see is how smart he is. You tell him something once, and he quickly understands what you want done and how he's going to do it," Lewis said.

Also, he's now very confident with his game and how he fits in with Lone Peak's other four starters. He knows he belongs in perhaps the best starting five in Utah prep basketball history.

"He's really comfortable with his game, and he's become a tough force for us inside," Lewis said.

Hamilton comes from a football family. Growing up he wanted to be a wide receiver. He played football for the Knights his sophomore year and then decided late to try out for Lone Peak's sophomore team. He was the very last player the coaches kept on that team.

"He had never played organized basketball before, but we kept him because he was a big kid. But I bet he only played a total of 30 minutes that whole sophomore year," Lewis said.

In January of that season, Hamilton, with his mother at his side, went into Lewis' office one day and informed the Lone Peak coach that he had decided to really become a basketball player.

"I've had a lot of kids who have told me that, but most haven't known what that really requires. But this is really a story of a kid who wanted this and worked his rear end off to get it," Lewis said.

Hamilton's progress really caught some attention last summer when coaches from Iowa State saw him play, recognized his potential and offered him a scholarship — which Hamilton accepted.

"He saw a chance to be in the big time, the Big 12, and raise his game to that level," Lewis said.

His game really turned the corner this season when the Knights returned from the national tournament in New Mexico. He's a major reason why the Knights have been so dominant in recent weeks.

"He's gone from being potentially a good player for Iowa State to a player, that if he continues to work the way he has, to being an impact player for Iowa State," Lewis said.

I expect that when Hamilton finally does head off to Ames, Iowa, that it will still take him a year or two to become that impact player that Lewis is predicting. But, as Hamilton has already proven, I've been wrong before. Hopefully, when he does become a star for the Cyclones, he'll forgive me and the many others who in the past have doubted him.

 
Photo by Jason Olson, Deseret Morning News