CAN'T TOUCH THIS
Hammer wins South Dakota Mr. Basketball Award

May 6, 2002

Hammer sign -- Hammer shown in April signing a National Letter of Intent to attend and play basketball at NSU. To his right is Elkton High coach Ervin Gebhart.

Northern State recruit Matt Hammer earned the 2002 South Dakota Mr. Basketball Award at a banquet held at The Barn in Huron May 5.

The 6-foot-5 Elkton High School guard averaged 24.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 6.6 assists per game as a senior. He was a two-time all-state performer.

In an article published by the Aberdeen American News on May 6, Hammer's coach Ervin Gebhart said of his star player "The last two years especially, Matt has been a solid player. But the one thing that impressed me even more were the opposing coaches coming up and saying that he's not just a good ball player, but that he's a good kid. He's never acted cocky and he's never made a face at the ref when he thought it was a bad call. He just went out and did his thing and behaved like a good sport."

Hammer was quoted by the News as saying, "This is really a great honor. I really thought it would go to Andy Kleinjan (Sioux Valley) because he had just a great senior year. I was a little surprised to win it, especially since I was in Class B. It's a great feeling and I'm happy that it turned out the way it did."