Hamilton was an ordinary skinny senior at Utah's Lone Peak High School last fall when he signed to play at Iowa State. Coach Greg McDermott joked that he'd like Hamilton to gain 10 to 15 pounds before arriving on campus this summer.

Instead, the 6-foot-11, 220-pound center packed on more than 40, transforming himself from a likely redshirt candidate too rail-thin to bang in the Big 12 Conference to a weapon that may be invaluable in the Cyclones' arsenal.

"Because he's built this body, we're going to be able to work with him on being a physical force," McDermott said. "That's something, frankly, we don't have."

Peter Parker became Spider-Man after a radioactive spider bite. The Hulk appeared after Dr. Bruce Banner absorbed radiation from a gamma bomb. While Hamilton knows the weight alone won't give him superpowers in the Big 12, he credits a daily stack of sandwiches for his extraordinary transformation.

The diet began as an effort to keep from losing weight during his final season of high school basketball. He'd eat two extra sandwiches a day. Once the season ended after Lone Peak won the state title, Hamilton tripled that intake while still lifting weights and shooting hoops twice a day.

"It's necessary to play in the Big 12, I think," he said. "You look at all the guys who are 7-foot-2, and you have to be able to compete with them."

Playing against top high school talent and ISU's other incoming freshman in last month's skills camp, Hamilton stood out as having the largest presence on the court. He dunked and ally-ooped, dominating the low post, but McDermott said it's his continued development as a shooter that impresses him most.

Hamilton says his weight gain has slowed since arriving on campus three weeks ago. He's playing in the Capitol City League as well as in pickup against teammates, so he's burning calories at a faster rate. And strength coach Andy Moser is working with him to strengthen his core muscles.

But he's adjusted his diet to fit his new lifestyle. A big part of that was switching from his dad's homemade PB&J to the pre-made, individually packaged Uncrustables he now eats.

Having an unlimited pass to the ISU dining halls also helps. Now each morning, he hops on his bike and pedals across campus to the Union Drive Community Center cafeteria, where he loads one plate with scrambled eggs and another with waffles, pancakes and sausage links.

"Any time we get free food, he'll be there," roommate Wes Eikmeier said. "And it's hard to catch him without one of those peanut butter and jelly Uncrustables he carries around."

Not to be mistaken for an unrestrained glutton, Hamilton keeps careful count of his calorie intake. He chooses pasta with alfredo instead of marinara because of the higher calorie count. He knows there are 20 fewer calories in an Uncrustable than in raspberry jelly and smooth peanut butter on white bread.

He said he keeps the menu exciting by rotating between strawberry and grape jelly. He doesn't care for cold cuts, and says they don't travel well anyway.

Moser says Hamilton understands how to gain good weight while also improving his strength, speed and agility.

"In order to put on weight and maintain that, we need to be eating all the time," Moser said. "A lot of athletes don't understand the nutritional value of those constant calories."

Moser said it's a goal for the entire men's basketball team to gain muscle mass this offseason. But because basketball players tend to be tall and thin with low body fat, it can be a challenge.

Eikmeier, a 6-foot-3, 175-pound guard, says he plans to start on Hamilton's peanut butter and jelly plan. So does Hamilton's little brother, as well as two friends who play football at Idaho State.

But one man's secret weapon can be his roommate's kryptonite.

"Clinton Mann's allergic to peanuts," Eikmeier said. "He can smell it like a mile away."

Need to gain 40 pounds?
Justin Hamilton maps out everything he ate in a day during high school:

"For breakfast I'd eat, like, eight eggs, scrambled, with a piece of toast with butter on it and a protein shake.

I'd go to school, and right after my first-period class, I'd eat a sandwich.

Then toward the middle of my next class, I'd eat another sandwich.

With about 30 minutes left in my next class, I'd eat another sandwich.

Then I'd go to lunch and have maybe two pieces of pizza.

Then I'd go to my next class, and at the very end of that, I'd eat another sandwich. After school, I'd go home and drink a protein shake, then go work out, and between weights and shooting, I'd eat another sandwich.

I'd go home, eat dinner with my family, just eating as much as my mom could pile on my plate.

Then I'd wait an hour, eat a bowl of ice cream and a snack of maybe a hot dog or some leftover pizza.

Then I'd have a protein shake before bed."