Eric Hunter is exactly what we need in a combo guard for the 2018 class.
WE have our big man already in Trevion Williams. Now we need to pair him with the explosive combo guard that will keep this train rolling.
If you do not know about Eric Hunter (you must be living under a rock). He is the combo guard for Indianapolis Tindley that lead them to the promise land in the 2016-2017 season.
He was the leader of the state champs. He averaged 25 points per game, 7 rebounds per game and 3 assists per game. But more importantly, he lead them to 25 wins. He is a winner. I always prefer to recruit guys that come from a winning culture.
Like Travis always says, he hates that Ben Simmons was the #1 pick, when he couldn’t even lead his team to the NCAA tournament in college. I agree with him there. When you have a winners mentality, that is something you can’t teach. Someone who has won a championship, always wants more. See Nick Saban, see LeBron James, see Steph Curry, see Tom Brady, etc. Winning is built in and once you taste it you never want anything else.
Eric has tasted winning. He can bring that to our Boilers.
Coach Painter has started recruiting more combo guards as of late. Carsen Edwards, Nojel Eastern (who can play 1-4) and is now recruiting Eric Hunter, who could play the 1 or 2, even a 3 in the small ball. He is long enough to be able to play the 3.
Hunter can do it all. He can shoot, he can dribble, he can pass, he can defend and he can throw it down with the best of them. There is a reason he is a top 100 player according to Rivals, where he currently ranks at #96. He is a 4 star guard on all major recruiting sites as well.
Hunter could potentially be the face of the 2018 recruiting class if he does choose us. He reminds me in so many ways of Carsen. Yes, he is a bit taller, but he can still get the bucket when he needs to and he can create his own shot when he wants. His first step is quick enough to get past defenders in the B1G as well.
I really like him, some will say, well his numbers were so good because he played against 1A competition. There are athletes at all levels in this state. Coach Painter wouldn’t be spending his time on Eric if he was not the real deal.
Eric would play vital minutes in the guard rotation right away. A rotation that would consist of Carsen Edwards (unless he blows up this year and goes pro), Ryan Cline, Nojel Eastern and Sasha Stefanovic. Sasha, Nojel and Ryan could all play the 3 as well.
I am all in on Eric Hunter. He has shown enough, now we just need to close the deal on this 6’3”, combo guard. The Class of 2018 is starting to shape up with Trevion Williams, hopefully by winter, we will know if it will continue with an in state stud, in Eric Hunter.