A Basketball Season in Review - Guards: Eric Hunter Jr.
(Once again, some notes provided by Reddit user: DeBarco_Murray)
After giving a brief overview of what happened with the 2019-20 Purdue Basketball Season, let’s take a bit of a deeper dive into the different position groups and the individual players’ performance for the year. This isn’t going to be a game by game breakdown but more of a holistic view of each player and if applicable, what they need to work on moving into next year.
We will start with the Guards as they initiate the offense and are the point of the defense for any given night. In 19-20 Purdue had some issues with consistency from game to game. After a season watching Carsen Edwards run the team and score 15 points plus every night, it became more apparent that this team didn’t have a Carsen Edwards. This team needed someone to step up and make a play when the team needed it most. Guys showed flashes of this in different games, but no one seemed to take the reigns in every game and provide that steady performance the team could build off of. Moving forward to 2020-21, Purdue needs more consistent guard high-level guard play to take pressure away from the interior to always make the plays.
Eric Hunter Jr.
Preseason
Eric Hunter Jr was the next in line to leap into the starting lineup, being the freshman guard who played the most in 2018-19. He did need to solve some common issues that come with being a freshman on a team like Purdue. During his freshman season, he was noticed being a bit timid or uncomfortable with the ball in his hands. This caused some issues where he became a bit shy to pull the trigger on offense. Going into the season, Hunter was challenged to be more of an offensive threat as well as head the offense in general. His experience playing the year before should pay dividends as he takes on more responsibility. Purdue fans needed him to come in with more confidence and play the way he was recruited to play, and that is fearless.
In-Season Results
Hunter rose to the challenge of being a more consistent player by being the second-leading scorer on the team, behind Trevion Williams, and the highest-scoring guard on the roster. Hunter expanded his offensive repertoire over the off-season and it showed. Having him play alongside Nojel Eastern allowed him to slide into his more natural role as an off-ball guard. With that, he displayed a mid-range pull up that was almost automatic whether it was on the move, off the dribble, or catch and shoot. If he shot the ball from 8-18 feet you expected it to go in almost every time. He also showed a willingness to drive to the basket to try and move the defense and open up his teammates, this is invaluable as it forces the defense to stay on its heels never sure what he is going to do.
This was huge as we saw a confidence that was almost non-existent during his freshman year. As mentioned above in the preseason expectations, I don’t think many fans realize this is what coach Painter was expecting of EHJ. He is considered one of the most prolific high school scorers in Indiana high school history. He needed to display the consistent offensive threat that that brought.
His growth wasn’t just on the offensive side of the ball either. Having the off-season to train and grow, he seemed to grow on the defensive side as well. He consistently was providing very solid defense on the perimeter and seemed to be in the right position time and time again. I don’t think anyone expects him to perform at the level of say Nojel, but he was very sound and was ultimately the reason he saw as much playing time in his freshman year as he did. But, like everyone else, he also had moments where he would get lost during the off-ball movement by the opposing team. But more often than not, Eric performed well on the defensive side of the ball. I never felt worried when he was opposite the guy with the ball.
EHJ: Defensive Position
Here is a prime example of being in a great defensive position (With some credit going towards Nojel Eastern of course) and not getting too out of position with the clock winding down in the first half.
EHJ: Mid-range Jumper
Here is an example of Hunter’s ability in the step-back mid-range jumper. This is something you don’t see much of anymore in the college game.
EHJ: Shot Creation
Here is an example of Hunter being able to create and make his own shot. He does this with a quick feint towards the lane when the MSU big rotates onto him before rising up and bangs home a three.
EHJ: Defensive Rotation into transition 3.
Here is a good example of both his defense as well as transition offense. When Trevion Williams rotates to double the post, EHJ rotates and is able to poke the ball free for a steal. He isn’t done there as he hustles down the floor and cans a 3 to extend the lead.
Eric had a nose for the ball and averaged just under a steal per game, this is great. Steals, in my opinion, are great indicators for defensive game plans and preparation. There can be a luck factor in getting steals, but you can increase the likelihood by studying the opposition and knowing their tendencies on offense.
Hunter Jr showed that there was a reason he averaged over 30 minutes of playing time a night. His consistency was needed and he seemed to provide a steady hand every game. Matt Painter showed his trust in Hunter being a leader. I think Hunter took the job seriously and he did his best to prove himself in more than just scoring and defense. He averaged over 2.5 assists per game showing his willingness to get other guys involved when defenses started to focus on him.
His transition game was also vastly improved from his freshman year. I believe that with having more trust from Painter, he was more willing to be aggressive in transition getting to the rim on the break. I loved how aggressive Hunter was and want him to continue to look for moments to attack the break to get some easier points. I think Purdue as a team moving forward should look to play faster trying to get more quick buckets without having to beat a set defense. Those points will go a long way in the end.
As the season went on, Hunter became Purdue’s most consistent guard and provided a steady hand in games where other players were struggling to get into a rhythm. We need Hunter to continue and grow going forward into 2020-21 as this will once again a season with some uneven expectations after seeing 2019-20.
Season Stats/Averages: [PurdueSports.com]
GP/GS/Avg Mins/FGM/FGA/FG%/3PT/3PtA/3Pt%/FTM/FTA/FT%/PPG/AvgReb/TotalAST/TotalTO/TotalSTL
31/30/~32.0 /117/282/~41.0% /43/121/~35% /51/67/76% /10.6 /3.3 /82 /61 /29
Looking at Hunters’ stats showed that Purdue leaned on him a lot over the season. Hunter was consistently playing 3/4 or more of the game almost every night. And he seemed to take advantage of the time on the floor. He scored in double figures in 18 of Purdue’s 31 games. He was also never held scoreless and only being held below 5 points once. He also did his scoring dynamically, never settling too much for the 3 as well as not being afraid to get into the lane scoring in the mid-range.
As mentioned already, Hunter had a nose for the ball on defense. This shows in his 29 season steals. He had a steal in 17 games, as well as having 10 multi-steal games. Those extra possessions that those steals provide can make or break a close game and having a player with the knack for it will never be a bad thing.
His AST/TO ratio was also a very respectable 1.37:1 which would land him 4th on the team in that category, 3rd if you remove Tommy Luce’s of 6 AST to 2 Turnovers. So he was 3rd amongst players who had consistent minutes. We will need him to continue this level of ball security moving forward into next season! Keeping the ball on our side of the court as well as getting other guys involved will be invaluable, I think next year especially.
Best Game
I’m already going to break the rules and say that Hunter’s best performance was the pair of games against Indiana.
When the Boilermakers went on the road and faced IU on the night Bobby Knight made his return to Assembly Hall, Hunter was cool, calm, and collected going for 12 Pts, 2-4 from 3, 5 rebounds, 2 Ast, and 2 Stls. He just always seemed to make a play when Purdue needed it while providing a steady hand to his teammates. He also made a habit of disrupting the IU offense and forcing them to make tough plays.
Then there was the second matchup against IU, this time in the friendly confines of Mackey Arena. Hunter contributed with 17 pts, 7 rebs, 1 Ast, and 3 Stls and a first-half ending fast-break dunk that blew the lid off of Mackey. (See video above) Watching this game, you could see how hard Hunter was playing, I appreciate seeing guys play hard a lot, it shows they care and are willing to be invested in the game/team.
Looking Forward
To give Hunter one thing to work on for next year, and I know you could say this about everyone, is to increase his 3 point percentage. If he can get that 35% up around 40%, he would start playing at a level above the rest. If just shooting better isn’t enough of an ask, I think Hunter could also work on getting to the free-throw line more. 67 free throw attempts are nothing to scoff at, but we’ve seen his willingness to drive into the lane trying to get to the front of the rim. If he can work on inviting more contact on the drive, that will also provide the tangible benefit of getting guys in foul trouble.
I’m looking forward to seeing where Hunter takes his game going forward. I think he will have an even better season next year which could see him playing near an All-B1G level. If he can take that next step, coupled with the other weapons Purdue is bringing back, as well as bringing in, I think Purdue will return to the top of the Big Ten once again.
As always, Boiler Up, Hammer Down, Hail Purdue!
