COLUMBIA, S.C. – De’Andre Hunter hadn’t been sitting around counting the days until the NCAA Tournament arrived this season. While he hadn’t played in the Big Dance yet, he figured that chance would come eventually. Once his debut arrived, however, Hunter didn’t waste the opportunity.
Hunter poured in 23 points to lead all scorers in Virginia’s 71-56 win against Gardner-Webb on Friday. That included a sensational second half where he outscored the Bulldogs by himself until two late 3-pointers helped GW edge him 20-17 after he already sat for the night.
“I was just being more aggressive,” Hunter said. “Got some easy buckets at the rim, got a couple and-ones, got the energy going up. I felt like that helped us in the second half, and [Ty Jerome] started to make shots, as well. So I feel like those shots helped our team a lot.”
It didn’t take Hunter long to show off his ability on the big stage. On his first touch of the game, he caught the ball just off the right block, faced the basket, and blew by his defender on the baseline for a two-handed dunk. Later in the half, he grabbed an offensive rebound and powered it up for a bucket. He also drove and scored off the glass once.
Hunter had wanted to be aggressive from the get-go.
“Yeah, I talked to myself,” Hunter said. “It was win or go home. It’s one game. If we lose, we’re done. I didn’t want to go out being not aggressive. I told myself that and I tried to be aggressive from the tip.”
Even so, the first half still didn’t feature a completely assertive Hunter. He had 6 points on 7 shots, but there was still some hesitancy to either catch and shoot or catch and go from the sophomore. That changed at halftime. In a big way.
Hunter took 9 shots in the second half and earned 3 free throws as well. Most importantly, however, he didn’t hesitate on any decisions. He cut behind the zone and dunked. He dribbled away from a double team and made a skip pass before the ball pinged back around to him for a dunk on a cut. He flashed into the high post and buried an open look.
The two biggest – and arguably most confident – plays of the half came during the Hoos’ opening surge to start the half. After Kihei Clark got an offensive rebound and found him, Hunter caught the ball on the move toward the basket. The defense was there, but he gathered himself, gave a little arm bump to clear space, and scored a layup with a free throw for the old-fashioned three-point play that gave his team the lead for the first time.
Later, with Virginia really cooking on offense, Hunter squared up early in the shot clock and swished a long 3-pointer. He turned with arms raised and smiled ear to ear.
“It was great. I was having fun,” Hunter said. “As Kyle said, I was just being in the moment, being where my feet were. I was happy because I was missing some, and when I made that one, I was really excited.”
Hunter ended up with 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting in the second half. He made 2 of 4 triples and one of the missed attempts rolled all the way around the rim before spinning out. Long story short: Gardner-Webb just didn’t have an answer for him and when it switched to a matchup zone to try to stop UVA’s surge, it only got worse. That’s when he got a two-handed dunk to fire up the crowd and that uncontested free throw jumper.
“Yeah, I think it was difficult for everybody in the ACC this year for the most part, so it was going to be a difficult challenge for us,” GW coach Tim Craft said. “Hunter was – yeah, he’s a monster for us to guard, and most of the country.”
“We were definitely finding him. Our offense kind of works to whoever has the hot hand,” UVA’s Braxton Key said. “The offense kind of runs through them. Dre made some plays, hit some tough shots, getting to the rim. He’s a great player. Can’t really say too much about it. He’s going to find a way to score. He’s really talented.”
“The great thing about him is even when he’s hunting offense it’s usually within the flow of the offense,” Jerome said. “That’s where I know if I can touch the paint and they help off him, I’m always looking for him and I’m always looking for Kyle [Guy]. … We look for him in the post, we look for him in the high post, so we look for him in a variety of ways. The great thing about him is he’s never forcing shots.”
In the end, Hunter’s 16 shot attempts were the most he’s taken this season. He took 14 shots against Wisconsin for the highest non-conference game and 15 shots at Notre Dame for the highest conference game. He’s taken double-digit shots 17 times this season so it’s not like he’s shying away from offense, but when he is both efficient and assertive as a scorer it ups the pressure on the defense. He’s also able to shrug off physicality in a way that still leads to good, comfortable-looking shots.
The best sign in all of that, however, is that Hunter isn’t always willing to attack the game. He often lets the game come to him and then misses opportunities to pick his spots. Take last week’s ACC Tournament, for example, where he attempted 19 total shots in two games. Obviously Florida State is an Elite 8 quality team vs. 16th-seeded Gardner-Webb and he took 12 shots against the Seminoles, but if he’s willing to catch and decide in the same way as the second half Friday, it can be a big boost to the team.
Hunter, answering questions in his usual reserved manner in the locker room after the GW win, acknowledged how just a little more assertive play can help the Hoos.
“I feel like this team needs me to be aggressive,” Hunter said. “I feel like we struggle when I’m not aggressive. My teammates try to instill confidence in me to shoot those shots because I shoot them all the time. I feel like we’re a lot better when I’m aggressive. I just went out there and tried to do that today.”
Hunter is key to how far the Cavs will go.