Hermantown boys basketball is rebuilding in real time this winter — and the future is clearly visible.
The Hawks’ 3-10 record tells only part of the story. Beneath it is a roster packed with underclassmen, logging meaningful minutes against veteran competition, learning what varsity basketball demands and laying groundwork that should pay dividends well beyond this season.
This is not a team short on effort or belief. It is a team short on experience — and gaining it quickly.
Hermantown’s leading contributors are almost entirely underclassmen. Junior forward Sawyer Senst has emerged as a centerpiece, averaging 17.3 points and 9.3 rebounds per game while anchoring the frontcourt. Junior guard Ben Sundland has provided steady production and leadership, scoring 13.7 points per game and pulling down four rebounds a night. Freshman Noah Schulz has already shown he belongs, averaging 12.4 points and nearly five rebounds, an early signal of what could become a long-term building block.
Around them is a rotation filled with sophomores and freshmen playing real varsity minutes — not spot duty, but meaningful roles. That youth has been tested repeatedly against a demanding schedule that has included Princeton, Hibbing, Bemidji, Cambridge-Isanti, Kasson-Mantorville and Duluth East.
The results have been uneven, as expected in a rebuild. Losses have come by wide margins at times, including a 97-78 defeat at Princeton to open the season and an 87-47 loss at Hibbing. Bemidji handed Hermantown a 99-55 setback at the Holiday Classic, and Cambridge-Isanti followed with a 95-66 win in Duluth.
But there have been tangible signs of progress.
The Hawks earned a 76-69 home win over Proctor on Dec. 9, then followed with a 73-68 victory over Bloomington Jefferson at the Holiday Classic. They added a decisive 94-50 road win over St. Paul Harding on Dec. 19. Even in defeat, Hermantown has shown growth, pushing Cloquet to the wire in an 84-79 loss on Jan. 8 and continuing to compete late against deeper, older teams.
Statistically, the Hawks are holding their own in key areas for such a young group. They average 61.4 points per game, rebound at a solid 32.4 per contest, and show defensive activity with more than five steals and four blocks per game. Those numbers suggest a foundation, not a finished product.
The closing weeks of the season will offer more tests — Duluth Denfeld, Duluth Marshall, Cloquet, Bemidji, Rock Ridge and Duluth East remain — but the focus has shifted from wins and losses to development, habits and identity.
Hermantown basketball has been built before, and it’s being built again now. The minutes being logged by underclassmen this winter are not being wasted. They are investments.
This season may not look like what the Hawks are used to. But it looks very much like the beginning of something.