DIPRIMIO: Kenya Hunter Aims To Help Indiana Win Championships
9/14/2020 3:19:00 PM | Men's Basketball
By: Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Kenya Hunter gets it. He does. You don't leave a tradition-rich basketball program, as he did at Connecticut, unless something enticing comes along.
It has.
He's now an Indiana co-associate head coach, and the possibilities are everywhere you look.
"This is a great opportunity," he says. "Hopefully I can be a help to this program and move it in a direction where every year we are competing for championships. That's our goal."
Hunter has been many things during his 18 years in the college ranks, with stops at UConn, Nebraska, Georgetown, Xavier, North Carolina State (as director of basketball operations) and Duquesne, but never a head coach. That will change says two of his former bosses, Tim Miles, the ex-coach of Nebraska, and Danny Hurley, the current coach of Connecticut. Both label him as a future head coaching standout.
For now, though, Hunter's mission is to help the Hoosiers under coach Archie Miller regain the title-winning glory they once enjoyed under Bob Knight and Branch McCracken.
Priority No. 1 comes down to this:
"Don't get it twisted," Hunter says. "I'm here to recruit."
Few do it better, especially in prime areas such as Chicago, the Northeast and Washington D.C.
Miles has called Hunter "one of the strongest recruiters in the country." Hunter helped deliver standouts such as Jordy Tshimanga and Glynn Watson as freshmen, and Isaac Copeland as a transfer from Georgetown.
Hunter helped UConn land a 2021 recruiting class that is receiving top-10 accolades. Its 2020 class rated among the nation's 25 best.
Now Hunter is set to turbo-charge Miller's already strong recruiting that has landed three straight Indiana Mr. Basketballs in Romeo Langford, Trayce Jackson-Davis and Anthony Leal.
What does he look for in a recruit?
"First, they have to be talented. I mean that's the first thing I look for. What unique talent do they have or skill set?
"It's deeper for me because I think the biggest thing is developing good people.
"Finding good people that are talented -- there are a lot of them out there. It's our job to find the right pieces. The relationship piece is important to me.
"I truly believe at the end of the day if you're going to get the most out of (players), they have to have your trust and you have to trust that they will do what they need to do."
COVID-19 has halted in-person recruiting, a Hunter strength. He says he likes to see how players deal with their teammates and coaches, and whether or not they're "coachable."
As for the positions he prioritizes, he says it starts with "What do we need?"
"Since I got into coaching I've heard this -- you at least need three potential pros on your team to make a deep run in the tournament. So I'm looking at the roster and thinking, 'Can we get three potential guys that we feel like in the near future can develop into pros?' Because if you have that on your team, you have a great chance of getting to that end goal, and that's to win a championship."
Hunter's recruiting has centered out East in recent years, but he has plenty of Indiana and the Midwest experience, especially from his Xavier days, when he helped lure Stanley Burrell and Justin Cage out of Indianapolis.
Under Miller and his staff (Tom Ostrom and Mike Roberts), the Hoosiers have recruited the state of Indiana well.
"They do have a very good grasp of the state," Hunter said. "They've had the best players in the state of Indiana and the Midwest mixed with a couple East Coast kids. If I can bring one or two guys to the table like that and help Tom and Arch with the Midwest … and bring in some guys from different areas to Indiana."
Of course, players mostly come because of the head coach. Hunter says Miller's ability to win over recruits is outstanding.
"We had a recruit Zoom call (recently) and I was very impressed. People keep telling me that Archie is very impressive on the Zoom calls and when we get recruits to campus that he wins the recruits over. I saw that first hand.
"He was very attentive to detail about the program and very thorough in going over why this is the best situation for the recruit. It opened my eyes to how much he has grown from the player that I remember. Obviously, I worked for his brother and it is kind of like a splitting image.
"Arch has a way about himself. He is very confident in knowing and teaching the game. I was very impressed on how he was able to go through the program from A to Z and really do a great job."
That's true even under pandemic conditions, Hunter says. Connections with high school and travel ball coaches help identify which prospects are the best fit for the program. Then, coaches use virtual tours of the campus, dorm rooms, practices and workouts to sell it.
"That's when relationships come into great value," Hunter says. "People that you trust when you call. You have to trust their evaluation to give you the right feedback you need to recruit the kid."
Hunter's focus is on the Class of 2022, and beyond.
"We're starting to offer some of those guys that I think will fit into the culture and what Arch is trying to build here."
Beyond recruiting, Hunter has thrived in producing opponent scouting reports. His Nebraska background should help against Big Ten teams.
"(Coach Miles) gave me a great opportunity as far as scouting and getting a feel for the league. It's not my first rodeo. When it comes to game planning, you have to be really locked in to each scout. I know how important that is.
"I've done this for a long time. Not to say that I'm great at it, but I do a very good job of game planning."
Hunter had a major role in developing standout players such as Roy Hibbert, Otto Porter and Greg Monroe at Georgetown, and Terran Petteway and Shavon Shields at Nebraska.
He focused on big men at Connecticut, and helped Josh Carlton earn American Athletic Conference most-improved-player honors in 2019, and Akok Akok become one of the nation's best shot blockers last season as a freshman.
Hunter says he wants to bring, "a seamless transition" to IU.
"I'm here to recruit, but I think I can bring value on the basketball part of it as well. That's one thing that Archie and I talked about.
"I think he felt confident in me in that I can go out there in skill development and really help a kid get better."
It's still undecided which positions Hunter will work with. When the Hoosiers have worked out (training sessions are paused because of a Covid-19 outbreak), all the coaches have worked with backcourt and frontcourt players.
"We're all on the court coaching the guards, the forwards and bigs," Hunter says. "We're all in the mix.
"Arch hasn't specifically said exactly which group that I'm working with. It's building those relationships as well."
Hunter didn't figure to make an August job change. He was getting ready for a third season as a UConn assistant coach when opportunity came. Bruiser Flint left for a position at Kentucky, and Miller suddenly had a position to fill.
"It happened really quick," Hunter says. "Normally guys don't change jobs going into August. I tell people all the time that it was an opportunity at an inopportune time."
The Hoosier attraction was decades in the making. Hunter had once coached Miller in AAU ball in the 1990s (along with Miller's father), and then at North Carolina State. Hunter left for an assistant job at for Xavier and a chance to coach under Miller's brother, Sean.
That Miller connection is reborn as a Hoosier.
"This was an opportunity that I did not think that I could pass up," Hunter says, "because of it being Indiana and the history and tradition that they have here and because of who wanted me to be here with him.
"You could say the stars aligned right. I think it aligned right for this to happen. With Bruiser Flint going to Kentucky, Arch reached out to me. It was one of those things that after talking with him and talking to my family, I prayed about it and felt like it was the right thing for me to do. And, here I am."
Hunter says Miller's coaching style is similar to that of UConn's Hurley in that both are "players' coaches."
Playing at North Carolina State, Hunter adds, gives Miller a difference-making edge.
"He played at the highest level. He has the understanding of the game. Watching him in skill development, he is still out on the floor demonstrating, going through different things and teaching the guys.
"We call that 'sweat equity' when you see your head coach out there on the floor, getting in the mix and coaching it up. I also am a guy that likes to get on the court as well and do the skill development stuff. We are kind of cut from the same cloth when it comes to that."
Indiana's rich basketball tradition, including five national championships, resonates with Hunter.
"They've always had talent," he says. "It was the level of talent they were able to get and how well coached they were.
"You go back to Isiah Thomas and knowing the history on what they've done here and what it means."
As far as current Hoosiers, Hunter saw many of them last season, when UConn lost to IU 57-54 in the Jimmy V Classic. He also was impressed with the Hoosiers' approach to voluntary workouts when he first got to campus.
"Guys were lifting weights and getting extra shots. All of them were here. That's a good sign."
IU has improved in each of Miller's seasons, from 16 wins to 19 to last year's 20.
"What excites me is that this is a group that has experience," Hunter says. "With a year under Trayce's belt and Joey (Brunk) being a veteran, their experience will hopefully win over for us."
IUHoosiers.com
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Kenya Hunter gets it. He does. You don't leave a tradition-rich basketball program, as he did at Connecticut, unless something enticing comes along.
It has.
He's now an Indiana co-associate head coach, and the possibilities are everywhere you look.
"This is a great opportunity," he says. "Hopefully I can be a help to this program and move it in a direction where every year we are competing for championships. That's our goal."
Hunter has been many things during his 18 years in the college ranks, with stops at UConn, Nebraska, Georgetown, Xavier, North Carolina State (as director of basketball operations) and Duquesne, but never a head coach. That will change says two of his former bosses, Tim Miles, the ex-coach of Nebraska, and Danny Hurley, the current coach of Connecticut. Both label him as a future head coaching standout.
For now, though, Hunter's mission is to help the Hoosiers under coach Archie Miller regain the title-winning glory they once enjoyed under Bob Knight and Branch McCracken.
Priority No. 1 comes down to this:
"Don't get it twisted," Hunter says. "I'm here to recruit."
Few do it better, especially in prime areas such as Chicago, the Northeast and Washington D.C.
Miles has called Hunter "one of the strongest recruiters in the country." Hunter helped deliver standouts such as Jordy Tshimanga and Glynn Watson as freshmen, and Isaac Copeland as a transfer from Georgetown.
Hunter helped UConn land a 2021 recruiting class that is receiving top-10 accolades. Its 2020 class rated among the nation's 25 best.
Now Hunter is set to turbo-charge Miller's already strong recruiting that has landed three straight Indiana Mr. Basketballs in Romeo Langford, Trayce Jackson-Davis and Anthony Leal.
What does he look for in a recruit?
"First, they have to be talented. I mean that's the first thing I look for. What unique talent do they have or skill set?
"It's deeper for me because I think the biggest thing is developing good people.
"Finding good people that are talented -- there are a lot of them out there. It's our job to find the right pieces. The relationship piece is important to me.
"I truly believe at the end of the day if you're going to get the most out of (players), they have to have your trust and you have to trust that they will do what they need to do."
COVID-19 has halted in-person recruiting, a Hunter strength. He says he likes to see how players deal with their teammates and coaches, and whether or not they're "coachable."
As for the positions he prioritizes, he says it starts with "What do we need?"
"Since I got into coaching I've heard this -- you at least need three potential pros on your team to make a deep run in the tournament. So I'm looking at the roster and thinking, 'Can we get three potential guys that we feel like in the near future can develop into pros?' Because if you have that on your team, you have a great chance of getting to that end goal, and that's to win a championship."
Hunter's recruiting has centered out East in recent years, but he has plenty of Indiana and the Midwest experience, especially from his Xavier days, when he helped lure Stanley Burrell and Justin Cage out of Indianapolis.
Under Miller and his staff (Tom Ostrom and Mike Roberts), the Hoosiers have recruited the state of Indiana well.
"They do have a very good grasp of the state," Hunter said. "They've had the best players in the state of Indiana and the Midwest mixed with a couple East Coast kids. If I can bring one or two guys to the table like that and help Tom and Arch with the Midwest … and bring in some guys from different areas to Indiana."
Of course, players mostly come because of the head coach. Hunter says Miller's ability to win over recruits is outstanding.
"We had a recruit Zoom call (recently) and I was very impressed. People keep telling me that Archie is very impressive on the Zoom calls and when we get recruits to campus that he wins the recruits over. I saw that first hand.
"He was very attentive to detail about the program and very thorough in going over why this is the best situation for the recruit. It opened my eyes to how much he has grown from the player that I remember. Obviously, I worked for his brother and it is kind of like a splitting image.
"Arch has a way about himself. He is very confident in knowing and teaching the game. I was very impressed on how he was able to go through the program from A to Z and really do a great job."
That's true even under pandemic conditions, Hunter says. Connections with high school and travel ball coaches help identify which prospects are the best fit for the program. Then, coaches use virtual tours of the campus, dorm rooms, practices and workouts to sell it.
"That's when relationships come into great value," Hunter says. "People that you trust when you call. You have to trust their evaluation to give you the right feedback you need to recruit the kid."
Hunter's focus is on the Class of 2022, and beyond.
"We're starting to offer some of those guys that I think will fit into the culture and what Arch is trying to build here."
Beyond recruiting, Hunter has thrived in producing opponent scouting reports. His Nebraska background should help against Big Ten teams.
"(Coach Miles) gave me a great opportunity as far as scouting and getting a feel for the league. It's not my first rodeo. When it comes to game planning, you have to be really locked in to each scout. I know how important that is.
"I've done this for a long time. Not to say that I'm great at it, but I do a very good job of game planning."
Hunter had a major role in developing standout players such as Roy Hibbert, Otto Porter and Greg Monroe at Georgetown, and Terran Petteway and Shavon Shields at Nebraska.
He focused on big men at Connecticut, and helped Josh Carlton earn American Athletic Conference most-improved-player honors in 2019, and Akok Akok become one of the nation's best shot blockers last season as a freshman.
Hunter says he wants to bring, "a seamless transition" to IU.
"I'm here to recruit, but I think I can bring value on the basketball part of it as well. That's one thing that Archie and I talked about.
"I think he felt confident in me in that I can go out there in skill development and really help a kid get better."
It's still undecided which positions Hunter will work with. When the Hoosiers have worked out (training sessions are paused because of a Covid-19 outbreak), all the coaches have worked with backcourt and frontcourt players.
"We're all on the court coaching the guards, the forwards and bigs," Hunter says. "We're all in the mix.
"Arch hasn't specifically said exactly which group that I'm working with. It's building those relationships as well."
Hunter didn't figure to make an August job change. He was getting ready for a third season as a UConn assistant coach when opportunity came. Bruiser Flint left for a position at Kentucky, and Miller suddenly had a position to fill.
"It happened really quick," Hunter says. "Normally guys don't change jobs going into August. I tell people all the time that it was an opportunity at an inopportune time."
The Hoosier attraction was decades in the making. Hunter had once coached Miller in AAU ball in the 1990s (along with Miller's father), and then at North Carolina State. Hunter left for an assistant job at for Xavier and a chance to coach under Miller's brother, Sean.
That Miller connection is reborn as a Hoosier.
"This was an opportunity that I did not think that I could pass up," Hunter says, "because of it being Indiana and the history and tradition that they have here and because of who wanted me to be here with him.
"You could say the stars aligned right. I think it aligned right for this to happen. With Bruiser Flint going to Kentucky, Arch reached out to me. It was one of those things that after talking with him and talking to my family, I prayed about it and felt like it was the right thing for me to do. And, here I am."
Hunter says Miller's coaching style is similar to that of UConn's Hurley in that both are "players' coaches."
Playing at North Carolina State, Hunter adds, gives Miller a difference-making edge.
"He played at the highest level. He has the understanding of the game. Watching him in skill development, he is still out on the floor demonstrating, going through different things and teaching the guys.
"We call that 'sweat equity' when you see your head coach out there on the floor, getting in the mix and coaching it up. I also am a guy that likes to get on the court as well and do the skill development stuff. We are kind of cut from the same cloth when it comes to that."
Indiana's rich basketball tradition, including five national championships, resonates with Hunter.
"They've always had talent," he says. "It was the level of talent they were able to get and how well coached they were.
"You go back to Isiah Thomas and knowing the history on what they've done here and what it means."
As far as current Hoosiers, Hunter saw many of them last season, when UConn lost to IU 57-54 in the Jimmy V Classic. He also was impressed with the Hoosiers' approach to voluntary workouts when he first got to campus.
"Guys were lifting weights and getting extra shots. All of them were here. That's a good sign."
IU has improved in each of Miller's seasons, from 16 wins to 19 to last year's 20.
"What excites me is that this is a group that has experience," Hunter says. "With a year under Trayce's belt and Joey (Brunk) being a veteran, their experience will hopefully win over for us."
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