(2018) SG Eric Hunter to Purdue

[IUsafety 2,775]

Per Kyle Neddenriep
Indiana and Michigan were in today to see Tindley guard Eric Hunter (2018).


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[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,957]

Creighton offered.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,957]

Hunter's offers to date.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,957]

Indiana Underclassmen To Watch: Eric Hunter

Jordan Wells | Staff Writer

 

Indiana head coach Tom Crean loves his shooters.

The Hoosiers have shot the ball particularly well from deep in the most recent history of his tenure in Bloomington.

His squad finished in the top ten in three-point shooting percentage in four of the last five seasons, according to Kenpom.com, including ranking No. 2 nationally in 2011-12, fourth in 2012-13, sixth in 2014-15 and fourth again in 2015-16.

So it's no surprise Crean is giving Indianapolis Tindley Prep junior Eric Hunter a close look.

The guard shot better than 40 percent from behind the arc as both as freshman and sophomore, according to Tindley Prep head coach Bob Wonnell.

“Eric is long, and he’s such a good shooter,” Wonnell said. “He started out as a skinny kid who could shoot, but from there he’s just continued to grow.

"I think one of the aspects of his game that's the best in the entire state is his midrange game. He can be going 100 miles an hour up the court, stop on a dime and pull up for a jumper.

“Now he can put it on the floor, and now he can take it to the rack and dunk on you. He can really score in multiple ways."

Putting up points is not all Hunter does for Tindley Prep. Wonnell added the junior even led the squad in rebounding last year, after averaging over four per game as a freshman.

“I think he can play the one or two at the next level,” Wonnell said. “For us, our system has a few guys that play like a point guard.

“But he certainly projects as a Big Ten level player. He can play on the ball or off.”

Indiana, Purdue, Nebraska, Michigan and Xavier are among many of the schools to stop by to check out Hunter at Tindley Prep's open gyms.

Wonnell and Hunter also visited Indiana for an unofficial just a couple weeks ago.

“Coach Crean was very hands on,” Wonnell previously told TheHoosier.com about watching practice on the trip. “He would coach his guys, then come over and talk to Eric and make sure he really explained what they were doing and why they were doing it. I know Eric was really impressed by that.

“Tom noticed how positive Eric was on the court and with his teammates, and he thought that was really important," Wonnell added on Monday.

Tindley Prep's early schedule posted online features a few marquee matchups, including one against Fort Wayne North Side and talented 2019 forward Keion Brooks on Dec. 23. The 6-7, 180-pound four-star sophomore - ranked as the No. 29 player nationally in 2019 - already has early interest from the Hoosiers among others.

To catch Hunter, Wonnell and Tindley Prep in-action this winter, check out their early slate of games posted online here.

The junior averaged 24.6 points, 7.0 rebounds, 3.0 steals and 2.5 assists per game as a sophomore last season, helping his squad to a 22-6 overall record.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,957]

Minny watched Hunter this am.

[Uspshoosier 44,223]

Indiana assistant Tim Buckley here at Manual High for game btw Fort Wayne North Side (Keion Brooks) and Indianapolis Tindley (Eric Hunter)
@peegs


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[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,957]

21 hours ago, Uspshoosier said:

Indiana assistant Tim Buckley here at Manual High for game btw Fort Wayne North Side (Keion Brooks) and Indianapolis Tindley (Eric Hunter)
@peegs


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FW North Side defeated Indpls. Tindley 77-61. Hunter with 25 pts; in a losing effort.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,957]

Indpls. Tindley participating in the Wettig Tournament at Richmond.

Yesterday Tindley lost to Connersville 71-63.  Hunter with 20 pts. and 6 reb.  He was 8 of 16 from the field.
Today Tindley defeated Portage 78-52.  Hunter with 34 pts., 6 reb., 5 asst.  He was 15 of 24 from the field. 

 

Halftime of another Wettig Tournament game and Tindley leads Park Tudor 30-18 in a semi-final game.  Hunter already with 17 pts. on 6 of 8 from the field.

Edited December 28, 2016 by Class of '66 Old Fart
New Info

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,957]

In the championship game of the Wettig Tournament at Richmond, Tindley loses to SB Adams in OT 84-83.  Hunter 35 pts. and 9 reb.

SB Adams connected on 30 of 34 FT's.

Eric Hunter of Tindley is Most Outstanding Player, averaged 30.3 points per game.

Edited December 30, 2016 by Class of '66 Old Fart
Update

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,957]

Tindley junior Eric Hunter broke school career scoring record.  Now at 1,371 points.  Minnesota coach Richard Pitino will watch him tonight.

Official offer today from Minny.

 

Edited January 4, 2017 by Class of '66 Old Fart

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,957]

Indianapolis Tindley 53, University 41. Eric Hunter 21 pts.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,957]

In a Saturday afternoon game, Tindley defeats Charlestown 66-59. 

Hunter, who finished with 19 points on 5-of-9 from the field and 7-of-8 at the stripe, is Tindley's top recruit. He's being pursued by the likes of Indiana, Purdue and Xavier. He also had 5 reb.

Edited January 8, 2017 by Class of '66 Old Fart
Added Info

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,957]

Tindley beats Heritage Christian 75-69,  Hunter - 27 pts.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,957]

Final/OT: Crispus Attucks 89, Tindley 86.    Eric Hunter 40 points, 14 rebs for Tindley.  Hunter was 14-24 from the floor. 7-14 from 3 and 5-6 from the FT line. He had 4 assists as well.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,957]

Final 1A sectional final:  Tindley 63, Bethesda Christian 41.  Eric Hunter 17 pts.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,957]

Indpls. Tindley defeated Lutheran 78-62 for the 1-A regional championship at Martinsville.  Hunter with 21 points. 

In the afternoon game, TIndley defeated Shakamak  64-49.  Hunter with 17.

[Uspshoosier 44,223]

http://www.indystar.com/story/sports/high-school/recruiting-central/2017/03/17/one-states-top-2018-players-iu-recruiting/99301688/


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[Stuhoo 75,564]

21 minutes ago, Uspshoosier said:

http://www.indystar.com/story/sports/high-school/recruiting-central/2017/03/17/one-states-top-2018-players-iu-recruiting/99301688/


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Don't have a Star subscription...can you share the upshot of the article?

 

[ccgeneral 38,084]

3 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

Don't have a Star subscription...can you share the upshot of the article?

 

Me neither.

One of Tom Crean’s final recruiting visits as Indiana basketball coach was to see Tindley junior Eric Hunter play in the Class A regional championship Saturday night in Martinsville.

On the surface, the 6-3 Hunter appeared to be exactly the type of recruit Crean coveted when he arrived at Indiana nine years ago: an explosive Indianapolis guard who is likely, barring injury, to end his high school career as the leading scorer in Marion County history.

But while Butler, Purdue, Creighton, Minnesota, Nebraska and Xavier were among the schools to offer Hunter a scholarship, Indiana was not. Hunter had been in touch with Indiana assistant Tim Buckley, but wasn’t clear where exactly he stood with Indiana in the recruiting process.

“I couldn’t say we had a solid relationship,” Hunter said. “It was on an off. (Crean) came into open gym during the school year and we texted back and forth but (Martinsville) was the first time he’d ever seen me play.”

Perhaps a bigger issue, from a perception standpoint, is that it Indiana’s lukewarm interest didn’t bother Hunter. He said he’s developed strong relationships with the coaches at Butler, Purdue, Creighton and Nebraska and said other programs like Maryland and Wake Forest have been showing increased interest. He is ranked as the No. 106 prospect in the 2018 class in the 247sports national composite rankings.

Hunter is averaging 26.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game this season as he leads Tindley (22-5) into a Class A semistate at Richmond on Saturday against New Washington (20-9). He has 1,805 career points, which could put him in position to rank in the top-five all-time by this time next year.

Hunter said the Indiana coaches invited him to a campus a few times for games, but his schedule didn’t mesh. But he added that it felt like “a distant relationship” compared to other schools recruiting him.

“It was way different,” he said. “Not even close. I’m not going to say IU hasn’t tried to get me there and (Buckley) saw me at Manual for the Fort Wayne North game.”

Hunter is curious to see who will replace Crean at Indiana, although he said he’s far enough down the road in recruiting now that he already has a strong pool of schools after him.

“Growing up in Big Ten country, I’m right smack dab in the middle of it,” Hunter said. “But for me (Indiana’s interest) is not that big of a thing. I just grew up liking basketball, period. If they are interested, they are interested. If they’re not, they’re not. It’ll never be the end of the world for me with any school.”

Hunter said he's in no rush to make a decision.

[Class of '66 Old Fart 80,957]

Hunter and his Tindley teammates took home the Class 1A championship with a 51-49 win over Lafayette Central Catholic on a driving left-handed 10' bank shot by Hunter White with 5 seconds remaining.  Eric Hunter with 8 pts., 9 reb., 3 assists and 3 steals..