Four-Star Junior Eric Hunter Receiving Major Big Ten, Big East Attention
Recruiting attention continues to pick up from major conferences for one of the top juniors in the state.
Indianapolis Tindley guard Eric Hunter holds offers from Minnesota, Nebraska and Purdue from the Big Ten, and also holds scholarships from Butler, Xavier and Creighton from the Big East, in addition to numerous other offers already.
Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Illinois and Indiana have also all kept an eye on the No. 78 prospect nationally in 2018. Wolverines head coach John Beilein and Hoosiers head man Tom Crean have both evaluated Hunter in-person.
“I’m really just enjoying it right now," Hunter said of recruiting. "I’m weighing every option.
"Everyone has a chance right now.”
Hosting then-No. 3 University on Jan. 6, the 6-3 guard battled the stomach flu to score a team-high 21 points and lead his then-No. 5 Tindley squad to a 53-41 win.
Tindley - which also features guard Hunter White, who holds interest from IUPUI, Fort Wayne, Western Illinois and Eastern Illinois among others - stands at 9-4 overall on the season.
During halftime of the victory over University, Hunter had to take some medicine with his Gatorade to help settle his stomach.
"I got tired quicker," he said. "I had to throw my body around in a different type of way, like chest first.
"But we’re playing really well as a team and I’ve been scoring the ball well. Also I'm keeping the other guys involved.
“Really I’m working on getting stronger and becoming more of a leader. I'm also working on more ways to put the ball in the basket.”
In the win, Hunter scored in a variety of ways, including at the rim and from behind the arc. Tindley head coach Bob Wonnell noted the junior has made over 40 percent of his attempts from three-point range in every one of his seasons thus far at Tindley.
Hunter is a competitor in practice, too. Wonnell explained his athletes regularly run the mile for conditioning, and each effort Hunter is always trying to better his best time of 4:58.
“He’s fantastic," Wonnell said. "He’s added more to his game.
"He’s more of a playmaker this year getting to the rim – he’s even added a postup element to his game. He’s leading us in rebounds, which he did last year. He’ll consistently guard the other team’s best perimeter player.
"He's just a hard worker. He leads by example. He scores points as efficiently as any kid I’ve ever seen. He doesn’t take a lot of shots because he doesn’t need them. He’s a very willing passer."
Minnesota was one of Hunter's more recent offers. After multiple evaluations by assistants and viewing some games online, Gophers head coach Richard Pitino extended the scholarship after the final step of seeing Hunter play in-person.
Hunter touched on Pitino's squad, as well as a couple of the other programs recruiting him for TheHoosier.com back on Jan. 6.
On Minnesota: "The interest is mutual. They’re moving in the right direction. Coach Pitino is – I think they are 13-2 right now – they’re doing really well.”
On Nebraska: "That was one of my first Big Ten offers. I like Coach Miles and those guys. They are 3-0 in the Big Ten right now so they’re also playing well.”
On being at Butler's upset win over No. 1 Villanova: “It was great. It was a crazy environment. The fans rushed the court. It was a lot of fun.”
On Indiana: “I like the way they play. It’s a positionless team and Coach Crean has those guys moving in the right direction. He’s a good guy."
To check out Hunter, Wonnell and Tindley this season, you can view their schedule here - LINK.
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