Justin Hamilton doesn’t know exactly how long he was strapped into a walking boot this summer. He suffered a stress fracture in his right foot three weeks after arriving on the Iowa State campus, and he could not participate in preseason workouts until two weeks before practice began.

It was only a few months, but to the freshman, it felt like forever.

Hamilton has wasted no time catching up from his months of spending practice on the stationary bike and completing upper-body only weight room workouts. Last week, he became ISU’s sole freshman starter, but his 16 points and 4 rebounds in Saturday’s 91-55 win against SIU-Edwardsville proved opponents will have more than just Craig Brackins to fear in the Cyclones’ frontcourt.

“I’ve never really coached anyone who’s been as green as he is from a basketball standpoint but is as passionate as he is about wanting to be as good as he can at the game,” ISU coach Greg McDermott said.

SIU-E coach Lennox Forrester said his primary hope was to keep Brackins from continuing his streak of double-digit scoring. But each time his players double-teamed Brackins, it left Hamilton or Alex Thompson with only a much smaller player defending them in the paint.

The pair made the most of the opportunity, with Thompson scoring six points while shooting 3-of-3 from the floor to complement Hamilton’s 7-of-9 shooting as ISU improved to 10-4.

McDermott stressed that all four of ISU’s post players have come a long way since the start of the season; together they combined for 33 points on 15-of-23 shooting against SIU-E (4-12). McDermott said Thompson’s shot selection has improved, Jamie Vanderbeken’s energy is up, and “it’s obvious to everybody that Craig is a better player than he was a year ago.”

Yet Hamilton, who only began playing basketball when he was 16 and was accidentally discovered by the Cyclone staff when assistant coach T.J. Otzelberger wandered into the wrong gym at an AAU tournament, may have come the farthest this season.

That is in large part because of his dedication in packing on about 40 pounds between signing day and the start of the season.

“Once I got all the weight on, while I was doing it, I still made sure I got in the gym and was doing the same thing I did (in high school); I was making sure I still had the agility,” Hamilton said. “Then once I got hurt, I had to make sure I was still working on my touch, mainly. Now it’s slowly coming back, with my legs back.”

Hamilton knew he needed to bulk up if he wanted to see meaningful minutes in the Big 12 Conference, but did not realize there might be a downside to the quick upsizing. When that stress fracture hit in July, he took it as a sign to slow down, eventually returning to full practices in time for the season opener.

McDermott said Hamilton’s work ethic and willingness to listen have helped him morph from likely redshirt into a starter who is averaging 4.5 points and 2.8 rebounds per game.

“I think our fans are seeing right in front of their eyes the fruits of his labor,” McDermott said.