IU Recruiting: Chris Hunter

Note: This is a feature article on Chris Hunter that apeard in the May issue of Inside Indiana. Hunter was recently offered a scholarship by IU Coach Mike Davis.

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It’s been a while since Indiana Basketball lured someone from one of Indiana’s basketball-rich cities, Gary.

In fact, it’s been 20 years since a player from the Gary area chose to play basketball for the Hoosiers - Dan Dakich from Merrillville in 1981.

But the Hoosiers have their eye on arguably the best prep player the city has produced since the early 1990s in Glenn Robinson - Westside High School center Chris Hunter.

Hunter is a 6-11 1/2, 210-pound center who averaged 21.9 points, 11 rebounds and four blocks last season for Coach John Boyd’s squad. This summer, he’ll participate in his second consecutive adidas ABCD All-Star camp while also playing for the Bloomington Red AAU team alongside another IU recruiting target, Bloomington North forward Sean May.

And Hunter’s stock has been on the rise. He’s widely considered one of the top 100 juniors in the country, and is drawing interest from many of the nation’s top basketball programs, according to Boyd.

"He likes the ACC, but he loves the Big Ten," Boyd said. "I really think it’s down to the Big Ten and ACC. Chris couldn’t go wrong playing in either of those conferences. I think it will boil down to those guys. The Michigan States, the Indianas, the Michigans and the Illinois.

"But we have IU high on our list, because we love Mike Davis. Mike Davis is someone we really, really have a good feeling about."

Hunter said he doesn’t have any favorites at this point, and will wait to see how his summer goes before deciding if he’ll sign during the early signing period or wait until the spring. But he does believe the Indiana program has something to offer.

"I think (Indiana’s) a good program," Hunter said. "I think it’s a program on the rise, and I think it might be a good fit for a lot of players who might want to go there."

Boyd believes Indiana has a strong shot at attracting Hunter. He said Hunter has a great deal of respect for IU Coach Mike Davis and the job he did last year.

"I think we can get (Mike Davis) in here next year, and I think he’ll be able to make a push for Chris. I hope that he does," Boyd said. "I’d love to see Chris, Sean (May) and Jared (Jeffries) play together. You’re talking about 6-9, 6-10 and 6-11 or 7-1. And all of them can go inside and outside. That would be unheard of in college basketball."

Like current Hoosier Jared Jeffries, Hunter combines a solid inside game with strong perimeter skills. Like Jeffries, Hunter hit a growth spurt during his high school days. Boyd said Hunter was 6-5 and 150 pounds when he first arrived at Westside High School, but he grew six inches during his sophomore season.

He’s expected to top out around 7-1.

So instead of being strictly a center throughout his basketball career, Hunter spent some time playing both guard and forward before the growth spurt. That allowed him to develop his ball handling skills and outside shooting touch beyond what would be expected of a 6-11 1/2 center, and that’s a big reason why he will be one of the nation’s most sought-after big men.

"I think I’m a pretty versatile player, not one dimensional," Hunter said. "I have a lot of dimensions, shooting, dribbling, post play and outside play. Before I hit that growth spurt, I used to play around the neighborhood as a guard or forward, so I had to be able handle the ball and shoot outside."

Boyd agrees his star player has some rare skills for a player his size, but he’d like to see him become more of a weapon on the defensive end as well.

"He has to get more aggressive on the defensive end. He has to want it as much as he wants it on offense," Boyd said. "On the offensive end he’s a killer. He can hit the jump shot from 19-20 feet. He’s very consistent on that end of the court. Defensively, he has to adjust and learn and be smart.

"Remember, this is a 16-year-old kid. He’s not a 17 or 18-year old kid. He’s 16, and won’t turn 17 until July. He’s a kid who developed a knowledge of the game early, and we’re working on honing his skills. He’s mastered the five basic low post moves. He knows how to slide his feet properly, we just need him to get a little more aggressive when he plays wide body guys."

Adding some weight will be one of Hunter’s priorities in the off-season. Boyd said Hunter has been working on the weights throughout his high school career, and is currently working with a personal trainer. He said by the time Hunter finishes growing, his playing weight will be in the neighborhood of 225 pounds.

Another off-season priority will be turning some more heads during the summer camp season. Hunter held his own at last summer’s adidas camp, although he said it was an eye-opener for him to play against some of the nation’s top preps a year ago.

"(adidas camp) was a very humbling experience last year," Hunter said. "It made me see I need to go back in the gym and work even harder to get my game to where some of the upper guys at the camp were. I think I turned some heads and showed some people I can play, but it was still very humbling."

The 2001 off-season figures to be a big one for Hunter, as does the 2001-02 season at Westside High School. Boyd said he’ll probably give his big man more freedom to display his skills during his senior campaign.

"On our team, we’ll probably feature him a little more next year, his senior year," Boyd said. "We had such a talented group of guys up here (this season). But when you get a 6-11 kid who can shoot the ball like Chris, you have to let him make decisions on the court for you."