Virginia Basketball Star Redshirt Freshman De’Andre Hunter Out For NCAA Tournament

By: Chris Horne |
De’Andre Hunter rises for the shot in a home win over Syracuse. Virginia’s key player off the bench will unfortunately miss the NCAA Tourney with a broken left wrist. ~ Photo by Mike Ingalls

Virginia redshirt freshman and 2018 Atlantic Coast Conference Sixth Man of the Year De’Andre Hunter will miss the 2018 NCAA Tournament with a broken left wrist, Cavalier head coach Tony Bennett has announced. Hunter later tweeted about the news.

Hunter, a 6’7” wing out of Philadelphia (PA), is set to have surgery on Monday, March 19. According to Virginia’s official press release, he is expected to be sidelined for 10 to 12 weeks but is expected to make a full recovery. Hunter suffered the injury during the ACC Tournament.

After redshirting as a first year, Hunter emerged in a major way this season for the top-ranked Hoos. He averaged 9.2 points per game, was the team leader in scoring in six games, and scored in double figures 16 times. Thirteen of Hunter’s double-digit scoring efforts came during conference play. A member of the 2018 All ACC Freshman team, Hunter earned Co-Rookie of the Week honors following a 22-point outing versus Miami.

Hunter has been more than just an offensive threat for Virginia, though. Defensively he has been able to guard post players as well as perimeter players, including the likes of Virginia Tech’s Justin Robinson and Syracuse’s Tyus Battle. He has become a noticeable force on the boards as well, averaging 3.5 rebounds per game. Hunter came through with several clutch boards in the regular season home finale win over Notre Dame and had a season-high of 10 rebounds against Pittsburgh, recording his first ever collegiate double-double against the Panthers.

Hunter unfortunately is no stranger to major injuries, as a broken leg sidelined him for his entire high school sophomore season.

Virginia, the No. 1 seed in the South region, begins its NCAA Tournament run this Friday, March 16 in Charlotte (N.C.) against No. 16 seed UMBC.

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