LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — The injury news around the Indiana University basketball team last season was bleak, and it was consistent as the Hoosiers sunk to a 19-16 season.
Serious concussions suffered by Robert Phinisee and Race Thompson. The usual basketball leg injuries. A guy (De’Ropn Davis) laboring to recover from a repaired Achilles’ tendon.
Another guy, NBA Lottery pick Romeo Langford, who delayed surgery on a thumb injury until after the season.
And, then there was the curious case of Jerome Hunter.
There’s still a gap in the calendar until the Hoosiers’ first game against Western Illinois on Nov. 5, but the curiosity about Hunter has started to clear. Maybe the injury cloud will not surround IU this season.
On Tuesday, the Hoosiers and Hunter announced that he has been cleared to practice and play this season.
That’s a major boost for coach Archie Miller as he begins his third season with the assignment of ending the IU’s three-year absence from the NCAA Tournament.
"They recruited me for my versatility,” Hunter told Zach Osterman of the Indianapolis Star at IU basketball media day Tuesday. “I feel like I’m versatile, and I can just be anywhere on the court that (Archie Miller) wants me to be.”
“I feel like that can help the team a lot … Being out a year, being back, I’m excited to be back with my teammates. Seeing them practice last year, and seeing all the hard-fought games they went through last year. I was motivated, and now I’m excited to be back."
Indiana had a hole in its lineup at small forward last season, especially for a guy who can make three-point shots and attack the rim. That is Hunter.
At 6 feet 7 inches and 220 pounds, Hunter averaged 20.2 points and 10.2 rebounds during his senior season at Pickering North High School in suburban Columbus, Ohio. He was named runner-up for the state’s Mr. Basketball award.
Hunter was a consensus Top-50 recruit in 2018, ranked behind only Langford in Miller’s six-player class. Although Hunter reportedly excelled in offseason practice and won at least one gold jersey as the top practice performer, he never played one second.
He had surgery at the Cleveland Clinic nearly a year ago and then was withheld from practice because of a medical condition. Although Hunter resumed individual workouts, he was never in position to play in games.
That slowly changed during the summer. His workload with IU basketball strength and conditioning coach Clif Marshall increased. He participated in more drills.
And on Tuesday, IU made it official that Hunter has been cleared to play this season.
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