Hoosiers Now

Indiana's Kenya Hunter Named One of College Basketball Most Impactful Assistant Coaches

Silver Waves Media released a list of the most impactful assistant coaches in college basketball, and Indiana's Kenya Hunter was named for his recruiting and player development skills.

Jack Ankony

USA Today Network

Kenya Hunter is approaching his third season as a member of the Indiana coaching staff, and on Friday he was named one of the most impactful high major assistant coaches in Division I men's basketball by Silver Waves Media.

Hunter was one of eight Big Ten assistants to make the list, joining Rutgers' Brandin Knight, Illinois' Chester Frazier, Wisconsin's Dean Oliver and Sharif Chamblis, Maryland's Grant Billmeier, Iowa's Sherman Dillard and Purdue's Terry Johnson.

The article stated that Hunter has ignited a culture of effective player development in Bloomington. It credited Hunter for the development of All-American Trayce Jackson-Davis, as well as helping Jackson-Davis, Armaan Franklin and Xavier Johnson rank in the top six for most improved scorers in the Big Ten.

Hunter came to Indiana under former head coach Archie Miller and stayed on staff during the transition to current head coach Mike Woodson. Hunter is a 20-year coaching veteran and played an integral role in Indiana's first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2016. After reaching the Big Ten tournament semifinals for the first time since 2013, Hunter was a big reason why Indiana landed the No. 8 recruiting class in the country for 2022, according to 247 sports.

Before joining Miller's staff at Indiana, Hunter spent two seasons at UConn where he helped center Josh Carlton earn the AAC Most Improved Player Award in 2018-2019. Under Hunter's guidance, Akok Akok became one of the nation's top shot blockers. Aside from primarily coaching UConn's forwards, Hunter recruited two consecutive top 20 recruiting classes. 

Hunter spent five seasons at Nebraska as an assistant, reaching the NCAA Tournament and developing All-Big 10 selections Terran Petteway and Shavon Shields. 

And before his time in Lincoln, Hunter was a member of the Georgetown coaching staff for six seasons when the Hoyas earned two Big East Conference titles, five 20-win seasons and five NCAA Tournament berths. Hunter was said to play a key role in the development of future NBA big men Roy Hibbert, Greg Monroe and Otto Porter Jr. 

Prior to his work at Georgetown, Hunter was on staff at Xavier when they recorded back-to-back 20-win seasons including an appearance in the 2007 NCAA Tournament. 

Hunter got his start at the Division I level at his alma mater, Duquesne, where he was a full-time assistant for two seasons beginning in 1998. In 1999 Duquesne landed the top recruiting class in the Atlantic 10. Hunter used this experience to land a role as the Director of Basketball Operations at North Carolina State until 2004, when he left to coach at Xavier. Hunter earned a Master's degree in education at NC State in 1998 when he was a student manager for the basketball team

A native of Arlington, Va., Hunter played football and basketball at Wakefield High School before playing point guard at Duquesne for four years, three of which when he was a team captain. 

Before the 2022-2023 basketball season, Woodson promoted Hunter to associate head coach. 

Stories related to Indiana basketball:

  • DEXTER DENNIS TRANSFERS TO TEXAS A&M: Dexter Dennis included Indiana in his final six transfer destinations, but the former Wichita State guard is headed to Texas A&M instead. If Trayce Jackson-Davis decides to return for his senior season, Indiana will fill its scholarship limit. CLICK HERE
  • ANDY KATZ SAYS JACKSON-DAVIS SHOULD RETURN TO INDIANA: Indiana star big man Trayce Jackson-Davis declared for the NBA Draft, and he'll participate in the NBA combine in Chicago from May 16 to 22 with a June 1 deadline to return to college. Here's how Jackson-Davis compares to other players with similar difficult decisions. CLICK HERE
  • NEW ALBANY NAMES COURT AFTER LANGFORD: Romeo Langford graduated high school in 2018 as Indiana Mr. Basketball, and now his home court at New Albany High School will be named after him. CLICK HERE
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Jack Ankony
JACK ANKONY

Jack Ankony is a Sports Illustrated/FanNation writer for HoosiersNow.com. He graduated from Indiana University's Media School with a degree in journalism. Follow on Twitter @ankony_jack.

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