Senior Pat Hamilton went home from his Northbrook Junior High School basketball tryout in sixth grade with news that he was cut from the team.

“I remember he was so mad about playing time [when he finally made the team] in seventh grade that he didn’t even try out in eighth,” said current teammate Peter Witty. “But he always played in his backyard.”

Hamilton said, coming into high school, basketball was not his main sport. He said he always thought he was going to end up focusing on baseball at Glenbrook North, but he opted to try out for the freshman basketball team as well.

“I was on the B team for feeder [in junior high], so I wasn’t shocked when I made the [freshman B team,]” said Hamilton. “Learning the system and how GBN basketball really works definitely helped me grow [as a player].”

Michael English, freshman B basketball head coach, said Hamilton deserved to make a team as a freshman because he was a strong player.

“He was always a pretty good scorer, and I think one of the things that really stood out was just his intensity in the game,” English said.

Hamilton said he was not set on continuing basketball after freshman year.

“When I was little, and I used to watch Jon Scheyer play, I pictured myself playing on the varsity team,” Hamilton said.

Hamilton said he decided as a sophomore to stop playing baseball to focus on basketball.

“I was nervous about [trying out for the sophomore team] because the guys from the [freshman] A team were still playing, and I didn’t think I was as good as them,” Hamilton said.

According to Hamilton, he put in many hours practicing during the spring of his freshman year, training and playing AAU basketball with Full Package Athletics.

David Weber, varsity boys basketball head coach, said he heard of Hamilton for the first time during his sophomore season.

“I didn’t even know who he was, and [he was] on our sophomore team,” said Weber. “It was about the middle of the season and I kept saying, ‘Who’s the kid that keeps hitting the jump shots?’”

Weber said by Hamilton’s junior season he was ready for the varsity level after working more on his shot and growing in height.

“I think [Hamilton] was learning a lot as a junior,” said Weber. “We started him a couple of games his junior year, and he didn’t look very comfortable out there.”

Hamilton kept on growing as a player and is now a starter and team captain, according to Weber.

“He is much more confident in himself,” said Weber. “He understands the team concepts much more this year than he did last year.”

Witty said this is the best he has ever seen Hamilton play in his five years of playing with him.

“This year [Hamilton] is trying to talk a lot more and get people to work together,” said Witty. “He’s been a really solid captain and a really good player for us.”

Weber said he credits much of Hamilton’s success to his competitive work ethic.

“There’s something about [Hamilton] that he competes at every little thing we do,” said Weber. “You always want a player like [Hamilton] that works so hard that you almost have to calm him down and get him to play a little bit slower.”

Weber said it is clear to see Hamilton’s passion for the game during practices.

“As soon as somebody tries to block his shot or guard him, this fire just comes out of him, and he’s like, ‘Oh no you’re not doing that,’” Weber said.

Hamilton said he hopes he has the opportunity to continue to grow as a player by playing Division III collegiate basketball.

Hamilton is the only player since Weber has been the head coach to lead the varsity team with points after coming from the freshman B team. As of Jan. 23, Hamilton averages 19.94 points per game and 4.6 rebounds per game for the Spartans.

“As a coach, you just love to see your players grow and improve, and it takes a lot of work to do that,” said English. “And [Hamilton] did that.”