Final Grades: Jerome Hunter Starts to Make His Mark For Hoosiers

It really was a true freshman season for Jerome Hunter, as the 6-foot-7 forward finds his way back on the basketball court.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — After everything that Jerome Hunter went through during his freshman year at Indiana, it was great to finally see him back out on the court during the 2019-20 season. He did some good things, especially after he slowly but surely starting finding a comfort level back out on the court.

Indiana coach Archie Miller kept reminding us often that Hunter was still nowhere near 100 percent out on the court, and that he still needed to play in shorter segments. That proved true throughout the year, but his potential showed out as well. 

Let's take a look at Hunter's season.

By the numbers

• Games played: 30
• Games started: 
• Minutes per game: 14.4
• Points per game: 3.8
• Assists per game: 0.3
• Rebounds per game: 2.1
• Field goal percentage: 35.0
• 3-point percentage: 30.2
• Free throw percentage: 75.0

Best game

Maryland 77, Indiana 76 on Jan. 26, 2020: It was a brutal ending for the Hoosiers in this game, but it was definitely Hunter's best performance of the year. He had a season-high 12 points and made three big three-pointers.

What was even more encouraging was that he played 27 minutes, more than anyone on the roster other than Justin Smith (28). He rebounded and guarded well too, and showed what he can be like at his best. 

Things I liked

Once Hunter got his feet wet, his game started to come around. The perfect case in point was his three-point shooting. He was just 4-for-28 (14.3 percent) to start the season from long range, but from Jan. 18 on, he was much better. He made 15-of-35 the rest of the way. That's 43 percent.

Hunter was a prolific scorer in high school in Pickerington, Ohio, and he showed flashes that he can do that at the next level, too. What he learned this year was everything he would have learned a year ago. It sets the stage for a big season a year from now, that's for sure. 

Things I didn't like

At 6-foot-7 and 220 pounds, Hunter needs to be a better rebounder and defender. Much of that will come with more on-court experience. It's one thing to go through a redshirt season and not play any games, but his medical situation was so bad a year ago, that he never even touched a basketball in any real way. That's all fixable, but we'll need to see it, of course.

Part of his bad nights, too, was rushing his shots. He'd come in and instantly hoist something up as soon as the ball found him, good look or no. That mindset might have had something to do with knowing his runs were going to be short, but it still hurt the team at times. The games where he played more minutes, you could see a comfort level emerge. He needs to feel that all the time.

Best video

There were many occasions this season where Archie Miller reminded everyone that Jerome Hunter was basically still a true freshman, because last year was a complete wash for him because of his serious leg injury. 

Final Grade: B

The grade is a B, but it's with a bullet. I agree completely with Miller that this was his true freshman season and it was all about the learning process. It might be a touch generous —  B-minus was the original thought — but you can see the flashes.

There's going to come a time, probably very soon next year, that he will command more minutes from Justin Smith at the small forward spot. If he can be a 38-40 percent three-point shooter all season AND attack the rim like he did in high school, he can be a consistent double-figures scorer. He only played 430 minutes this year, but they were well spent. We got a glimpse and, for the most part, we liked what we saw.

Your thoughts? Please join the conversation in our Community thread.

Related content on Jerome Hunter

• HUNTER HELPS BEAT PENN STATE: Jerome Hunter played a big role in Indiana's big win over ranked Penn State. CLICK HERE
• BREAKOUT VS. MARYLAND: Jerome Hunter hits three three-pointers and scores a career-high 12 points in his best game of the season. CLICK HERE

Complete list of  'Final Grades' stories

• PART 1, DEVONTE GREEN: Breaking down the season for Indiana senior guard and co-captain Devonte Green. CLICK HERE
• PART 2, DE'RON DAVIS: Indiana's senior big man battled injuries throughout his career, but stayed healthy in 2020 and played a small role. CLICK HERE
• PART 3, AL DURHAM: The junior guard leads Indiana in three-point shooting percentage and carries a big load. CLICK HERE
• PART 4, JUSTIN SMITH: The junior forward was second in scoring and rebounding for the Hoosiers, but there seemed to be something missing. CLICK HERE
• PART 5, JOEY BRUNK: The transfer from Butler added a lot to the Indiana roster, both on and off the court. CLICK HERE
• PART 6, ROB PHINISEE: The sophomore point guard never was the same after a lengthy abdominal injury. CLICK HERE
• PART 7, JEROME HUNTER: It was great to see Jerome Hunter back out on the floor after missing entire freshman season. CLICK HERE
• PART 8, RACE THOMPSON: The redshirt sophomore was productive off the bench, and had a happy homecoming in Minnesota. CLICK HERE
• PART 9, DAMEZI ANDERSON: We take a deep dive into what happened to Damezi Anderson, whose offensive game completely disappeared. CLICK HERE
• PART 10: TRAYCE JACKSON-DAVIS: The standout freshman was Indiana's best player all season, and it wasn't even close. CLICK HERE
• PART 11: ARMAAN FRANKLIN: Some magical moments back home in Indianapolis this season for Indiana's freshman guard. CLICK HERE

Coming on Sunday

• FINAL GRADES: Race Thompson's season at Indiana.