Commitment has been an underrated part of senior center Peter Kalthoff's story with the Hillsdale College men's basketball team.
Sitting behind a two-time All-American, Patrick Cartier, and a three-time All-Great Midwest Athletic Conference honoree, Austen Yarian, for his first three years in a Charger uniform, Kalthoff never stopped improving and building up his game behind the scenes while waiting for his moment.
That dedication to his craft when the spotlight was shining elsewhere is paying dividends now that the 6-foot-9 senior is in the starting lineup for the 16-1 Chargers and proving he's one of the G-MAC's best post players in his own right.
On Monday afternoon, Kalthoff was recognized by the G-MAC Office as the G-MAC Men's Basketball Player of the Week for Jan. 9-16, the first time the senior has earned a weekly conference award and the team's first weekly award this season.
The honor comes on the heels of what has been, undoubtedly, the most productive week of Kalthoff's career. The senior had a dominant performance in an 87-69 victory over Northwood last Thursday, totaling a career-high 29 points, the most by a Charger in a single game this season, on 14 of 18 shooting, and also grabbing 10 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season.
Kalthoff followed up that monster performance with another solid game in a 67-52 win over Ohio Dominican on Saturday, finishing with 14 points on 6 of 10 shooting and five rebounds against the Panthers as well.
Those numbers weren't a one-off, as Kalthoff has been impressive all season – leading the Chargers in scoring (13.3 ppg), rebounding (6.6 rpg) and blocks (0.9 bpg) through 17 games while scoring in double digits 12 times. In the G-MAC, Kalthoff currently ranks 11th in scoring, fifth in rebounding and third in field goal percentage.
Kalthoff and the Chargers are currently atop the G-MAC standings at 9-1 overall and will look to continue their strong start to the season with road contests at Kentucky Wesleyan on Jan. 19 and Trevecca Nazarene on Jan. 21.
Photo by Charles Miller