Hunter is an interesting case:
He will get paid, but there's only one or two programs which seem to be an actual fit, that are rumored to be on his list.
Georgetown makes zero sense if he's was frustrated by his current supporting cast. They went 7-25, have one non-top 100 player committed, and an astonishing 9 players in the portal. They will, most certainly be a mess, working its way out of this situation next season, and adjusting to a whole new roster.
Kentucky. Replacing Tshiebwe with Hunter, and 6 out of the top 7 scorers (including scorers 1-5) out of 2023 lineup will make UK basically an unknown, as to how (and IF) they run any offense. Last season, UK had a recently unprecedented lineup full of seniors and upperclassmen: In addition to leading-scorer and rebounder Tshiebwe, starters Antonio Reeves(#2 scorer), and Jacob Toppin (#3 scorer) are out of eligibility. True freshman starter and 4th-leading scorer Cason Wallace declared for the draft, and 5th-leading scorer Sahvir Wheeler is in the portal.
If Hunter chooses UK, he will be surrounded by talent, but it will be young, unproven one-and-done type players whose priority will be to get to the NBA, not clear out and feed the post. Four 5-stars, all ranked in the top 10 nationally, plus the 22nd -ranked player in the country (ranked 4stars), will probably not be a mature squad that will embrace a transfer like Hunter-especially considering that one of their commits is a C:
I would assume that the 5th ranked player in the nation expects starter's minutes.
Hunter would be a plodder on a team that basically will have no choice but to run based on how it has been built.
Duke makes the most sense. Losing Lively as a one and done creates the space for Hunter. Dariq Whitehead to the NBA was a hit to Duke's roster. But Whitehead was the teams 5th-leading scorer at 8.3 PPG, and Lively is leaving after averaging 5.2 PPG. Tyrese Proctor and Mark Mitchell are returning for their soph seasons returning Duke's 3rd- and 4th-leading scorers. Jeremy Roach and Kyle Filipowski are TBD with the former looking at leaving and the latter looking at returning.
Kyle Filipowski returning is the key: As a true stretch 4 with length, he would be the best stretch 4 Hunter has played next to since his freshman season when Franz manned the position. A Filpowski/ Hunter front court, with the other 2 returning starters, plus 5 five-star freshmen incoming (no Cs), would make a daunting roster.
Maryland? About as sensible a destination as Georgetown. He'd be committing to a roster in more flux than Michigan's- leading scorer Jahmir Young is out of eligibility. Hakim Hart is in the portal. Don Carey was a 2017 recruit so I'm not sure he has any more eligibility. Donte Scott is gone. Patrick Emilien is gone.
That's 5 of their top 7 scorers. The real issue though is this: Thier top returning player will be a junior PF in Julian Reese that operates solely on the block (zero 3 pointers). Hunter would basically displace Reese's production as they score mainly from the same areas of the floor. So their top returning player would be a terrible fit alongside Hunter, and they would have to depend on a backcourt manned by players who are not yet on the roster.
Far too many unknowns for Hunter to waste his last season at Maryland...and does he really believe that Maryland's roster is in a better place to challenge Purdue, and other contenders if that's what they have returning?
Kansas & Gonzaga. IMO, these programs should fall to 2nd and 3rd behind Duke for the best destinations.
Kansas has a great roster of Gs and Fs, but a huge hole at C (former Michigan target Earnest Udeh and his 2.9 PPG was the only C listed on the roster).
Gonzaga is replacing a ton, but Mark Few's use of Timme shows that they should be able to quickly adjust to another high-use big around which to build to Zag's O.
Things that, IMO Hunter really needs to consider- Rosters that didn't have a dominant back-to-the-basket player will probably need about half a season to adjust their offenses to work with Hunter. Teams that were terrible last season like Georgetown, or were basically on Michigan's level like Maryland, also won't be in a better position to win with him on the team, than the team he left would've been.
He will get paid, but there's only one or two programs which seem to be an actual fit, that are rumored to be on his list.
Georgetown makes zero sense if he's was frustrated by his current supporting cast. They went 7-25, have one non-top 100 player committed, and an astonishing 9 players in the portal. They will, most certainly be a mess, working its way out of this situation next season, and adjusting to a whole new roster.
Kentucky. Replacing Tshiebwe with Hunter, and 6 out of the top 7 scorers (including scorers 1-5) out of 2023 lineup will make UK basically an unknown, as to how (and IF) they run any offense. Last season, UK had a recently unprecedented lineup full of seniors and upperclassmen: In addition to leading-scorer and rebounder Tshiebwe, starters Antonio Reeves(#2 scorer), and Jacob Toppin (#3 scorer) are out of eligibility. True freshman starter and 4th-leading scorer Cason Wallace declared for the draft, and 5th-leading scorer Sahvir Wheeler is in the portal.
If Hunter chooses UK, he will be surrounded by talent, but it will be young, unproven one-and-done type players whose priority will be to get to the NBA, not clear out and feed the post. Four 5-stars, all ranked in the top 10 nationally, plus the 22nd -ranked player in the country (ranked 4stars), will probably not be a mature squad that will embrace a transfer like Hunter-especially considering that one of their commits is a C:
Hunter would be a plodder on a team that basically will have no choice but to run based on how it has been built.
Duke makes the most sense. Losing Lively as a one and done creates the space for Hunter. Dariq Whitehead to the NBA was a hit to Duke's roster. But Whitehead was the teams 5th-leading scorer at 8.3 PPG, and Lively is leaving after averaging 5.2 PPG. Tyrese Proctor and Mark Mitchell are returning for their soph seasons returning Duke's 3rd- and 4th-leading scorers. Jeremy Roach and Kyle Filipowski are TBD with the former looking at leaving and the latter looking at returning.
Kyle Filipowski returning is the key: As a true stretch 4 with length, he would be the best stretch 4 Hunter has played next to since his freshman season when Franz manned the position. A Filpowski/ Hunter front court, with the other 2 returning starters, plus 5 five-star freshmen incoming (no Cs), would make a daunting roster.
Maryland? About as sensible a destination as Georgetown. He'd be committing to a roster in more flux than Michigan's- leading scorer Jahmir Young is out of eligibility. Hakim Hart is in the portal. Don Carey was a 2017 recruit so I'm not sure he has any more eligibility. Donte Scott is gone. Patrick Emilien is gone.
That's 5 of their top 7 scorers. The real issue though is this: Thier top returning player will be a junior PF in Julian Reese that operates solely on the block (zero 3 pointers). Hunter would basically displace Reese's production as they score mainly from the same areas of the floor. So their top returning player would be a terrible fit alongside Hunter, and they would have to depend on a backcourt manned by players who are not yet on the roster.
Far too many unknowns for Hunter to waste his last season at Maryland...and does he really believe that Maryland's roster is in a better place to challenge Purdue, and other contenders if that's what they have returning?
Kansas & Gonzaga. IMO, these programs should fall to 2nd and 3rd behind Duke for the best destinations.
Kansas has a great roster of Gs and Fs, but a huge hole at C (former Michigan target Earnest Udeh and his 2.9 PPG was the only C listed on the roster).
Gonzaga is replacing a ton, but Mark Few's use of Timme shows that they should be able to quickly adjust to another high-use big around which to build to Zag's O.
Things that, IMO Hunter really needs to consider- Rosters that didn't have a dominant back-to-the-basket player will probably need about half a season to adjust their offenses to work with Hunter. Teams that were terrible last season like Georgetown, or were basically on Michigan's level like Maryland, also won't be in a better position to win with him on the team, than the team he left would've been.
