Indiana basketball's 2018 recruiting class came to Bloomington with the expectation to be the backbone of Archie Miller's program moving forward. The five-man class was highlighted by five-star Romeo Langford, with the other four players all receiving four-star rankings.
Now, there are just two members of that class left; Rob Phinisee and Jerome Hunter.
While Phinisee has been a starter for now his third year, redshirt sophomore Jerome Hunter has taken a different path to where he is now.
It was a leg condition that held him out the entire first year he was at Indiana and changed the expectations for Hunter moving forward.
The previously ranked No. 52 overall player in the Rivals150, Hunter had all of the skills necessary to be an All-Big Ten performer. While that is still not out of the question, Hunter hasn't focused on anything but getting back to the player he was just a few years ago.
“I know the type of player that I can be,” Hunter said. “Me not playing my first year, I think that kind of set me back a little bit. But this year is the year. There’s no problem with me. I’m healthy. So I’m just going out on the court playing my game and playing like I know how to play.”
Hunter is averaging just 4.8 points on 36.7 percent from three and grabbing 3.0 rebounds per game, but it is his recent play that has started to open the eyes of many people. Not only has he started to become more of an offensive threat, it's his confidence and body language that shows he is ready for more and that he is headed in the right direction.
