Report: Eric Hunter Jr. To Butler

When Eric Hunter Jr. failed to announce he was returning to Purdue for his Covid year and instead entered his name in the NBA Draft and then entered the transfer portal my initial thought was to quote Star Wars “I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” Turns out that bad feeling was accurate as it was announced today by Brian Neubert of Gold and Black that Hunter has committed to play his final season back closer to home at Butler.

Eric Hunter Jr. spent his high school career in Marion County and was a prolific scorer. He completely changed his game at Purdue to become a facilitator and defender. Hunter Jr. was a great team player and did everything that was asked of him by Matt Painter and the rest of the staff.

Butler is a good fit for him as they try to reinvent themselves under the tutelage of Thad Matta who is in his second stint with the team. It was always unlikely that Hunter would come back to Purdue given his lack of a statement hinting at it and his entry into the transfer portal but like many of you I held out hope that he would return. This became especially important after Nijel Pack chose to go to Miami.

Purdue now finds itself in desperate need of a point guard for next season. The transfer portal will continue to be scoured.

Casey and I actually discussed the possibility of Hunter Jr. winding up at Butler on two occasions on the podcast. I’ve linked both episodes below plus one more where Eric Hunter Jr. was discussed. Congrats to Eric Hunter Jr. I will certainly be rooting for him next season.