By: Keegan Johr
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The post season for any sport is the most important and exhilarating part of their
season. All the hard work and preparation throughout the year comes down to winning
and moving on, or losing and going home. For the Hamilton boys varsity basketball
team, it’s everything.
Last season, the boys were determined to win the district championship and move on to
regionals. However, after winning handally against the Wayland Wildcats in the district
semifinal the boys had one more game to win. They were set to play the Holland
Christian Maroons who, at the time, were a very talented team. After falling short in a
close game, the Hawkeyes had lost and were sent home.
Coming into the 2024-25 season, the team was fueled. Hamilton junior Londin Cooper
said “Losing to HC in the district final was probably the biggest off season motivator for
me, I don’t want it to happen again”.
The boys started their season with high expectations to succeed and redeem
themselves. However, after getting off on the wrong foot with a rough one and eight
start to the season, the fans’ support started to dull. Losing eight out of nine games to
begin the season is not ideal, but the season was just getting started and there were
many games left to be played.
Gabe Schrotenboer stated “win the next game”. This was the phrase he used to
describe his thoughts on the season and his mindset going forward. This seems to be a
common theme for the Hawkeyes, to just focus on what’s right ahead and not what’s in
the past.
Hamilton would then go on to win nine out of their next eleven games which completely
turned the season around. It instilled hope and support back into the fans who were now
rooting for the hawkeyes because everyone saw just how good this team could be.
Especially one of their nine wins in this stretch because it was against the number one
team in the state. Unity Christian. The game was a dog fight, an overtime upset win that
showed everyone how dominant the boys could be when it matters.
Senior guard Cooper described the season as saying “we went from eating shrimps with
the wimps, to eating lobsters with the monsters”. In other words, they completely flipped
their season around.
In their last game of the regular season, they fell to the Holland Christian Maroons
whom they beat by nearly 20 points earlier in the season. This would set the stage for
an absolute movie of a district championship if the tournament results fall the right way.
The Hawkeyes would get their “revenge” on a team that they could have beat last year.
Of course the boys would first have to beat the Wayland Wildcats who they beat last
year in the district semi-final game but lost to in a heart breaking upset of a season
opener this year.
With the same district bracket lay out as last year and playing both of them
during the regular season, the team sort of knows what to expect from these two teams.
It’s all about the fight and the will to win. With the Hawkeyes, their path to the state
semi-final game is on the easier side. If they beat HC, they would most likely play Unity
one more time which would be a dog fight. However, with the fans behind them and
them and the team doing everything necessary to just score more points than the other
team in any way possible they can do it. Because at the end of the day, it’s win or go
home.