Simply the Best: Bum knees and all, Gustafson leaves lasting legacy

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Record Setter

Here is a look at all the South Hamilton girls' basketball 5-on-5 records that Katie Gustafson owns.

*Career points-1,547

*Single-game points-41

*Career defensive rebounds-492

*Career assists-355

*Career made free throws-381

*Career 3-point FG's-212

*Career 3-point pct.-38.6

*Single-season assists-115 (shares with Caitlin Rexroat)

*Single-season made free throws-132

*Single-game made free throws-20

*Single-season free throw pct.-85.1

*Single-game 3-point FG's-11

Senior Season

Here is a look at the numbers Katie Gustafson put up during her senior season at South Hamilton.

Total points-383

Points per game-17.4

Total FG pct.-39.2

3-point FG pct.-37.2

Free throw pct.-82.5

Rebounds-169 (8.0)

Assists-75 (3.6)

Steals-65 (3.1)

Blocks-32 (1.5)

Note: Gustafson led the Hawks in average points, rebounds, steals, assists and blocks per game. South Hamilton finished the year 17-6.

JEWELL - It's the oldest of sports arguments and yet it's also the most common. It's held in coffee shops, on the street, inside the gymnasiums and, heck, even while people sit around their living rooms.

Who's the best ever?

At South Hamilton it's a debate that could be raging when talk shifts to the girls' 5-on-5 basketball program. Since the school made the transition to 5-on-5 in 1993 there have been a laundry list of talented players shuffle through the system, but the best - yes, even we're getting in on the debate - may have just ended her playing career.

Her name is Katie Gustafson. And her resume speaks for itself.

The final accolade on an already sparkling career came Tuesday when the 5-foot-9 senior guard was named to the Class 2A all-state third team by the Iowa Newspaper Association. A day earlier she garnered second-team status from the Iowa Girls Coaches Association.

There are numbers, too. Lots and lots of numbers, actually, that help to strengthen Gustafson's case.

She owns 12 single-season and career school records, most notably the all-time scoring lead with 1,547 points. There are also records for career assists (355), defensive rebounds (492), made free throws (381) and made 3-pointers (212). Tack on two high-profile single-game records - points (41) and 3-point buckets (11) - and it's not difficult to see why Gustafson is labeled one of the best, if not the best.

But, hey, don't just take our word for it.

"I've seen them all play since we've played 5-player ball, and we've had some good players," South Hamilton Athletic Director Todd Coy said. "Katie has probably been the most prolific as far as ninth (grade) through 12th. I don't know if we've had another one that has contributed as much as she has. As a pure basketball player - being your point guard, being able to play the low post and then being able to step outside and kill you from the outside - she has the whole game."

"She's the best shooter, best ball handler and best passer that we've had," Jim Klein, who was an assistant coach when South Hamilton embarked on the 5-on-5 game followed by a five-year head coaching stint that ended in 2002, said. "We've had some other kids like Heather Hill that have been very good, but Katie is the most complete 5-on-5 basketball player that we've had."

"As far as since I've been coaching (since 2002) I would say that, yes, definitely she's the best player we've had," current South Hamilton head coach Kathi Fisher said. "To me she's the whole package. She's not just an outside shooter, she's not just a ball handler and she's not just a passer. She encompasses the whole game."

About the only person not to jump on the Gustafson bandwagon was Katie herself.

"I'm not going to say I'm the best basketball player," a laughing Gustafson said when pressed for an answer. "I will say that I couldn't have accomplished things without all of my teammates. The teams that I played on had everything to do with my success

"(My career) is definitely something that I can be proud of now that the season is over and when I'm older it will be really fun to look back on it and hopefully show my kids."

For all of the good times - and there were many, like the night she buried 11 3s against Woodward-Granger during her sophomore year to tie the state's all-time single-game record, or her recent nomination into the McDonald's All-American Game - Gustafson's four-year stint didn't go off without a hitch. All she has to do is look down at her knees to bring the frustration to the surface.

Gustafson tore the ACL in her left knee prior to the start of her freshman season, and on July 30th of last year - on her 18th birthday no less - she suffered the same injury to her right knee.

Months of rehab, being bogged down with heavy and cumbersome knee braces and the toll the injuries took on her game and her prospects for playing college basketball - they all leave Gustafson thinking about what might have been had she been 100 percent healthy.

"All the adversity that I had to overcome was difficult, and it hurts and makes me sad, but it's obvious that it was meant to be," she said. "It taught me a lot of lessons about life though and (the knee injuries) helped me grow as a person. That's part of life and you're always going to have those things that are going to try to hold you back. Are you going to push through it or quit? I chose to push through it."

Fisher says she asks herself the rhetorical question of "what if?" every night. What if Gustafson wasn't genetically strapped with two bad knees? What if she had been healthy throughout her career?

What if? What if? What if?

"Without the knee injuries she's definitely a (Division I college) prospect," Fisher said. "There's no hesitation, especially when you watch some of the kids at the state tournament. The state of Iowa produces a lot of great players and I would say Katie is right up there with them.

"Having the two ACL (injuries) has hampered her in several ways, but she didn't let it hamper her spirit and her love of basketball."

Whether or not Gustafson continues her basketball career is still up in the air. The big-time colleges have stopped calling, but her passion for the game has, for the time being, kept her from fully committing to the idea of pursuing golf at the next level. A three-time Heart of Iowa Conference champion on the links, she tied for second at last spring's Class 2A state golf tournament.

"I don't know what I'm going to do next year," she said. "I haven't made any decision so far."

Whether she continues on the hardwood or never again picks up a basketball, it won't change her place in South Hamilton history.

But is she the best? We'll leave that up to you to decide.