Icies Hammer knew that it was going to be her final season of basketball at North Bergen High School.
With the encouragement of her head coach, Dan Reardon, Hammer realized it was time to – pardon the pun – put the hammer down and make her last season her best.
“We started this in the summer,” Reardon said. “We are supposed to meet an hour before each game in the summer league, but our rule is that if you show up on time, you’re still late. I told Icies that this was her team now and this is her time.”
In that respect, it did become Hammer Time.
“The pressure was on me to step it up,” Hammer said. “I knew I had to step up and be more of a leader. I had to keep everyone on the same page. I knew that it was going to be tough at times, but I had to change myself and become a leader.”
It’s not an easy thing to do, especially when you’re generally a quiet person like Hammer is.
“She’s been so quiet for three years,” Reardon said. “But she understood and accepted the leadership role.”
“I realized that not everyone was on the same page with me, especially the younger ones,” Hammer said. “The freshmen weren’t used to it, so I had to be hard on them.”
Hammer also prepared for her final year by playing high-level AAU basketball with the New Jersey Elite, a Bergen County-based program.
“It helped me get ready, playing with the best players, playing against the best players,” Hammer said. “It was a good showcase for me.”
Hammer said that she also worked hard on her own, improving her shot, getting quicker.
“I spent a lot of time in the weight room,” Hammer said. “I also lost some weight. I worked on my footwork. I felt like I had become a better player.”
Reardon said that Hammer worked diligently on her perimeter game.
“The one thing we worked on a lot was her face-up jumper,” Reardon said. “She is now able to face the basket and knock down shots from 15 feet, a mid-range jumper. She needed to work on that. She also has the ability to hit the 3-pointer. Because she’s so big and strong, people don’t think she’s going to go out there, but she can make that shot.”
But Reardon saw the big change in Hammer off the court.
“The leadership she is providing is big,” Reardon said. “She’s far more vocal than she’s ever been. She has to be the one in the front when we’re doing drills. She has to be the one in front in sprints. She has to be positive and provide energy. She has accepted that leadership role more. It’s important, because the kids listen to her. Being that big and that talented, she’s taught them that if she can do it, then everyone can.”
But not many can score the ball the way Hammer does. She has been an impressive scorer for the last three seasons for the Bruins, but this year, she’s really made a leap up.
Hammer averaged 17.5 points per game as a junior. She’s averaging 22 per contest this year. She had a game against Marist earlier this season where she scored 37 points and last Saturday against Union City, Hammer had 36 points and 13 rebounds.
She also scored 23 points in a game against Kearny and 19 in a tough loss to Lincoln.
For her efforts, Hammer has been selected as The Hudson Reporter Athlete of the Week for the past week.
Reardon was surprised with Hammer’s big-game scoring ability.
“I didn’t think she was capable of doing that and she’s done it twice,” Reardon said. “I think she’s starting to realize that it’s her senior year and it’s all coming to an end soon. She’s really done a great job in making herself into a better player.”
Reardon also said that Hammer has made strides with her ball handling abilities.
“She’s now able to get a rebound and go coast-to-coast with it,” Reardon said. “She’ll then finish the play as well. She’s much better with the ball.”
“I’ve started to be more of a leader on the court and that’s helped me,” Hammer said. “My teammates are getting me the ball in tough situations and I’m getting the chance to score.”
Hammer has not decided upon college just yet. She has offers from Holy Family in Pennsylvania and Southern New Hampshire, schools that have special education as a major. Hammer plans to become a special education teacher after college.
But Hammer said that she also plans to make her college decision final after playing another year of AAU basketball this summer. It’s a little bit of a gamble, but there’s also a chance that Hammer might get recognized by an NCAA Division I school that has a scholarship to offer. Right now, the only offers are from Holy Family and Southern New Hampshire, both of which are NCAA Division II schools.
“I’m going to wait and see what happens after AAU this summer, then decide,” Hammer said. “I think that motivates me more actually. It’s motivation for me to play harder and see if we can try and win a county championship.”
The Bruins, now 12-5, will more than likely be the No. 3 seed in the upcoming Hudson County Tournament, behind undefeated Secaucus and three-time defending champion Lincoln.
Reardon is just grateful to have the chance to coach Hammer a few more times before she departs.
“I’m just happy that I’ve had so much talent all these years,” Reardon said. “I’m a lot like John Wooden, who once said great players are the ones who make coaches great. I’ve been lucky to have players like Icies.” – Jim Hague
Jim Hague can be reached at OGSMAR@aol.com.