As the men’s basketball season gets underway, senior Jimmy Hammer will be leading the way. The Blue Jays kicked off their season with the York College Coaches vs. Cancer Classic this past weekend, facing off with Lebanon Valley College and Keuka College. Hammer, a 6’2” guard from Collegeville, Pa., led the offense, scoring 17 points in the team’s 75-70 victory over Lebanon, before turning it on to pour in 22 the next day against Keuka, drilling six three-pointers and four free throws along with dishing out four assists to pave the way for the Blue Jays. Hopkins would win 71-55 to take the Classic title.
For his efforts over the weekend, Hammer was named Centennial Conference Player of the Week, the first such honor of his career. However, Jimmy has long been a force for the Jays, playing in at least 26 games each year since his freshman year. In that time, he has come to be ranked 20th in school history in field goal attempts (729), third in three-point attempts (433), fourth in three-pointers made (170), ninth in three-point percentage (.393) and 18th in minutes (2,194). Hammer’s success last season has led to him being named First Team All-Centennial Conference and to the Capital One Academic All-District First Team.
Hammer’s outstanding performance this past weekend combined with sustained excellence throughout his career has earned him The News-Letter Athlete of the Week honors. Fortunately he was willing to answer a few questions about what he has been able to accomplish throughout his Hopkins basketball career.
The News-Letter: What was the team focusing on in the preseason?
Jimmy Hammer: This preseason we really focused on our defense and running our plays efficiently. Our defense was a strong point for us last year, and we are really trying to make it as close to perfect as possible for this upcoming year.
N-L: Has the team had any schematic changes from years past?
JH: We haven't really had too many schematic changes from the years past. However, we are practicing to make our defense very hard to score upon. We are also trying to execute plays much better than in years past to help everyone get more opportunities to score.
N-L: Is there anything you specifically focused on during the offseason, any change in your game you looked to make from years past?
JH: In the offseason I've really tried to make my shot more consistent as well as adding various ways to score to my repertoire. That way [opposing] defenses can't necessarily predict what I am going to do. I also have tried to improve defensively to help my team on that end of the floor.
N-L: What was the game plan going out against Lebanon Valley and Keuka?
JH: The game plan for both games was to to shut them down defensively and try to have the offense take care of itself. Not only that, but to only allow one shot and not give up offensive rebounds. On the offensive end we ran our plays until we got good shots, and fortunately we were able to take advantages of those opportunities. We also tried to limit our turnovers.
N-L: Do you feel that you are being utilized differently than in years past? If so, has this been by design, either to get you more involved or to mask some other weakness on the team?
JH: I don't feel I am being utilized differently than in years past. I think we have just executed our offensive sets better this year, which has given me more opportunities. We are sharing the ball terrifically this year so far, which has definitely helped me succeed.
N-L: What do you have to say about the two victories to start the year? Is there anything you can take away to focus on for the rest of the season?
JH: I think the two victories are a great start to our year since it can give us confidence early in the season and moving on into the conference games. Obviously there are some things we can improve on, but winning those two games really boosted the team's morale, which will be important as we start playing our conference games. We can take away some things from the games over the weekend, including cutting down on turnovers, continuing to share the ball and making a few adjustments on defense to make us difficult to score upon. If we can focus on these aspects I think we can be very tough to beat and can have a tremendous season.
N-L: What goals do you and the rest of the team have for this season?
JH: Our goals for the season are to win the conference championship and advance to the NCAA tournament again.
As the season gets underway the Jays will be looking to Hammer to lead the way. Hammer will be critical for Hopkins if the team has aspirations to advance to the first round of the NCAA tournament.
