Eric Hunter Jr. – Guard
Current stats: 10.5 ppg, 3.4 rpg, 2.7 apg, 0.8 spg, 41.4 FG%, 40.0 3P%
Similarly to his classmate, Williams, Hunter has made some major strides in productivity for Painter and the Boilermakers this season after a lackluster freshman campaign.
The 6-4 guard has been of vital importance to Purdue’s success thus far as the team’s primary ball-handler and No. 1 option in the backcourt, filling the vacuum left by All-American Carsen Edwards. Hunter’s playing the most minutes on the team by a significant margin, with his average of 32.1 per game nearly tripled from what he was getting last year. That’s the No. 9 mark in the conference, and he’s been productive with the increased responsibility, leading the team in assists per game and sitting just behind Williams in scoring average.
Hunter has also been lights out from a long-range, knocking down 40 percent of his looks from there. He and his partner in crime in Purdue’s backcourt, Sasha Stefanovic (39.6 percent), form arguably the top shooting duo in the Big Ten.