'It Starts With Me': Eric Hunter Jr. Taking Charge in Leading Purdue's Defense During Postseason
MILWAUKEE — As Purdue basketball prepares to take its first step into the NCAA Tournament on Friday against Yale, the team will face off against several talented scorers across the country.
Even if the Boilermakers have proven they can match up with anyone on the offense end of the floor, Purdue senior guard Eric Hunter Jr. continues to take steps in leading the team's defensive efforts.
"I know it starts with me," said Hunter, who was named to the Big Ten All-Defensive Team at the end of the regular season. "I feel like I'm the head of the snake when it comes to the defensive end. Guys kind of follow my lead when it comes to that."
The Bulldogs have won games in the Ivy League through a stout and stingy defense, but 6-foot-1 senior guard Azar Swain is a player that can score from anywhere on the court.
He scored 19.2 points per game this season, which ranked second in his conference. But he started the postseason with a bang, scoring a total of 48 points in a pair of matchups, including 23 in a win against Princeton during the Ivy League Tournament. championship.
Swain Garnered Most Valuable Player honors for his performances, leading Yale to an Ivy League Tournament title and the team's third NCAA Tournament appearance in the last five years.
"Swain is one of those guys that's a threat right as he steps onto the court," Purdue coach Matt Painter said. "He can shoot off the dribble, he can play in the mid-post, he can obviously catch and shoot, he can dribble into threes. He's just got a real mature pulse to his game."
He's an impressive shooter that enters the game with 269 career 3-pointers, a program record for Yale. Swain is also sixth in school history with 1,511 career points. During the 2019-20 season, Swain ranked 10th in the nation with 3.21 made 3-pointers per contest.
This season, he is shooting 42% from the field, including 34.9% from the 3-point line. Swain leads his team in free throws attempted, and knocks them down at a rate of 89.1%.
Naturally, Purdue will utilize Hunter's experience and defensive prowess to match up with Swain in an effort to slow him down. And he's ready for the matchup.
"He's a good player, super patient, and obviously can really shoot the ball from pretty much anywhere," Hunter said. "I feel like he's kind of like (Iowa guard) Jordan Bohannon in a way, he can explode from outside of the arc. But he also can be patient inside, get to the step-backs and floaters and stuff like that."
But the Boilermakers know that Yale isn't going to run everything through Swain. The Bulldogs have 13 players that have played in at least 11 games throughout the season.
Similar to Purdue, Yale has a deep roster that is spearheaded by its most talented players. Role players will be ready and waiting to take advantage when quality chances present themselves.
"I think they got a good mix of guys who are also aggressive knowing that he's their main aggressor," Hunter said. "You have those opportunities, you take them. It's kind of like what we do."
Stories Related to Purdue Basketball
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- 5 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT YALE: No. 14 seed Yale finished the season with a 19-11 record and punched its ticket to the NCAA Tournament with a 66-64 win over Princeton in the Ivy League Tournament title game. CLICK HERE
- TV, TIPOFF TIME FOR PURDUE VS. YALE: No. 3 Purdue will play No. 14 Yale beginning at 2 p.m. ET on Friday, March 18, in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. The matchup will be aired live on TBS. CLICK HERE
- PURDUE RANKED NO. 10 IN FINAL AP POLL: Purdue basketball earned two victories in the Big Ten Tournament before falling to Iowa in the championship game. The team sits at 27-7 on the season and comes in at No. 10 in the final AP College Basketball Top 25 poll. CLICK HERE
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D.J. Fezler is a staff writer for BoilermakersCountry.com. Hailing from The Region, he is from Cedar Lake in Northwest Indiana and has spent the last two years covering Purdue football and basketball.