Hoosier State of Mind
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Indiana Basketball: Jerome Hunter’s path to the NBA

By Trevor Gersmehl

BLOOMINGTON, IN - NOVEMBER 25: Jerome Hunter #21 of the Indiana Hoosiers brings the ball up court during the game against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs at Assembly Hall on November 25, 2019 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, IN - NOVEMBER 25: Jerome Hunter #21 of the Indiana Hoosiers brings the ball up court during the game against the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs at Assembly Hall on November 25, 2019 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA – MARCH 04: Jerome Hunter #21 of the Indiana Hoosiers in action in the game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Assembly Hall on March 04, 2020 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA – MARCH 04: Jerome Hunter #21 of the Indiana Hoosiers in action in the game against the Minnesota Golden Gophers at Assembly Hall on March 04, 2020 in Bloomington, Indiana. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /

Current Draft Stock: Undrafted (Unanimous)

Jerome Hunter was on some scout’s radars coming out of high school, but the leg injury really set him back. As I mentioned earlier, however, he has plenty of time to earn some of that attention once again. His chances to make the league remain slim, but not absent.

Likelihood of being drafted: Extremely low

Again, if the leg injury had never happened, Hunter would be in an entirely different trajectory. He is significantly behind where many would have thought he would be at this point in terms of his progression and has a lot of ground to make up to be considered for the NBA Draft.

Need for improvement

2021 is a huge sink or swim moment for Hunter. He’ll likely be starting as a sophomore, and although there may be a learning curve, I think it’s for the best. What Hunter needs most is to play basketball again.

Coming from high school, Hunter had an accurate three-point shot, a low/high post-game, was a great defender and a solid rebounder. We didn’t get to see any of that last season. By the end of this season, I think we will.

To see this, Hunter just needs more minutes. Archie Miller tends to shelter a lot of his players until he deems them truly ready to play. He takes very little risk in that way. However, he has no choice but to play Hunter significantly more than last season.

Hunter has such a pretty looking jumper, which assures me the threes will come. He struggled to shoot last season, but will likely up that percentage by being in better shape and being more prepared from his year of experience. Additionally, Hunter would have defensive lapses — common for any rookie — and will likely be a better defender next season by playing more defensive minutes.

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