Don’t get me wrong, your South Hamilton basketball teams were great, dare I say legendary in their own ways. The Seinfeld of their days, you could say.

But I’ll just say it: In my nearly 20 years of covering South Hamilton athletics, this version of the Hawks is the best I’ve seen. No joke, I’d take this one and give the points against any of its predecessors.

Maybe that’s being caught up in the moment just hours after watching third-ranked South Hamilton woodshed New Hampton, 63-31, in Saturday’s Class 2A substate final. Or maybe, after standing courtside for plenty of the Hawks’ 21

wins and their one loss this season, I’m right on the money.

South Hamilton will get the chance to prove me right in a week when it heads to Des Moines for the state tournament. It’s been Wells Fargo Arena or bust all season for this group, and now that the Hawks have reached center stage they know they have to perform.

Logan Peters (facing) and Conner Hill (25) embrace after the Hawks wrapped up their third consecutive state berth. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

One and done won’t cut it this year, not for this crew. Could it happen? Of course. There will be seven other teams in the field with championship aspirations and I tend to fall into the camp that thinks a handful of teams have a realistic shot.

You better believe South Hamilton is one of them.

What sets this team apart from the others is exactly that: the team. There is no star, nobody with a cape and S on his chest for opponents to focus on. If they want to stop Conner Hill, that’s fine. Logan Peters and Cole Berg are more than capable. Put an emphasis on containing the perimeter players and Cade Balvanz has proven he can do the heavy lifting in the paint.

Seriously, who do you stop?

“We’ve got four or five guys that can score in double figures in any game,” Berg said after he erupted for a career-high 25 points on Saturday. “In the past they could shut down Collin (Hill) or Marco (Balderas), but now they don’t know who to stop.”

South Hamilton junior Quinton Grove (middle) denies a pass to New Hampton’s Tristan Sweitzer (front) on Saturday in Mason City. DFJ photo/Troy Banning

Conner Hill, Berg, Peters and Balvanz were all contributing members — some more than others — on South Hamilton’s state-qualifying teams in 2017 and 2018. In 2017 it was Collin Hill’s team and for a good reason; he was one of the two or three best players in the state. A year ago Balderas ran the show and, again, rightfully so. The kid was a magician with the ball in his hands.

There is no Collin Hill this year. There is no Marco Balderas either. And that’s OK. This team has somehow figured out how to not only play without two of the program’s all-time greats, but also thrive and, yes, be even better.

“I think we’re better as a team,” Conner Hill said when I asked him to compare this group to the previous two state teams. “We’ve had better individuals, but the chemistry on this team is unmatched. And our defense, every practice we’re just working and that goes a long way.”

Ah, the defense. Perhaps the most important ingredient of this team.

Quinton Grove, the quiet junior who scores when the opportunities arise but never forces the issue, is straight up lockdown at the defensive end of the court. An all-state cross country runner, he’s got the lungs to go for 32 minutes and is almost never out of position. What he did to New Hampton point guard Tristan Sweitzer on Saturday was masterful, and it’s not the first time this season he’s taken the opponent’s best player and twisted him into a pretzel.

DFJ photo/Troy Banning

Remember that game against Roland-Story back in January? South Hamilton failed to make a shot outside of the paint — 0 for 17! — and yet still won by nine points. Why? Because it held the Norsemen to just 38 points.

“Defense has been big for us all year,” Peters said after the Hawks held New Hampton to 11 field goals on Saturday. “That’s what we’ve harped on all year. If shots aren’t falling, you can still play defense.”

The Penning and Wirtz team never made it to state thanks to a prayer at the buzzer (sorry to dredge that up again, folks). Hislop and Ullestad did. So did Collin Hill and Balderas. But it’s been 31 years since South Hamilton has won a game at state.

Is this the year? I think it is. And why stop at one?

DFJ photo/Troy Banning

Newsletter

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)

• Daily Newsletter
• Breaking News
• Obituaries

Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *

• Yes
• No