Purdue's Eric Hunter Jr.: 'There is No Ceiling For This Team'
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Fresh off of two huge victories last weekend against North Carolina and Villanova, Purdue guard Eric Hunter Jr. had a lot to say during the Sasha Live! Podcast this week live from Mad Mushroom Pizza.
Hunter, the senior guard from Indianapolis, filled in for Sasha Stefanovic on Monday night during the podcast. Stefanovic was a little under the weather and lost his voice. So Hunter came of the bench, talking about the weekend's two wins, the big postgame celebration, being ranked No. 3 in the country and looking forward to some big games coming up.
"We have really high expectations for ourselves. But we also know we can get better, too,'' he said.
Here are the highlights of Hunter's 30-minute interview, and the link below to watch the full podcast:
— on Saturday's win over North Carolina
"It's always cool and good to score a lot of points against a good team like that, and we made a lot of stops down the stretch, too. It was a good win. That's as close to March that you'll get in November. The North Carolina game game felt like an away game, because North Carolina, they've got fans everywhere.''
— on great perimeter shooting
"Shoutout to Sasha there. He was awesome. We really moved the ball well and got good looks. That North Carolina game gave us a lot of confidence because that was the first really big test we've had.''
— on quick turnaround vs. Villanova
"It was literally less than 24 hours because we played at 4 on Saturday and then 1 on Sunday. We watched a lot of film on Villanova on Saturday night, and I remember that we played them my freshmen year and they still run a lot of the same stuff. ''
— on fantastic finish
"Trevion (Williams) was huge down the stretch. He was tremendous on defense.''
— on adapting to new roles
"It's great that you have two guys like Zach (Edey) and Trevion playing at such a high level. And you don't see it behind the scenes, but they both really support each other a lot. We feel confident in everybody top to bottom, and everybody next to you, left and right, they're all really good players. From June up until now, we were going hard at each other and we were like, man, we're ready to play somebody else.''
— on depth at every spot
"From top to bottom, everybody is a good player and we want to use that to our advantage. It's just all about being ready, and all being on the same track. One thing he always writes on the board before the game is to leave it all out there and to empty the tank. Guys are just ready to come it a do their role. The other day in the North Carolina game, he put a completely different group in there and we went on a little run.''
— on watching Isaiah Thompson from the bench
"I learned that my freshman year, just watching and seeing how the game is going, and how they're guarding us, and using that to our advantage.''
Ladies, get you a man who shows you off like @ebuckets2_ shows off his bag of #cheezit 😂 https://t.co/oDs2JEarn9
— Traci (@traci_schr) November 21, 2021
— on the postgame celebration
"There were a lot of Cheez-It's involved. ... I'm a big Cheez-It's guy anyway, so I was really glad we had those. The plane ride home was nice. I was still wired. It was a good trip. We were at the Mohegan Sun, and everything you needed was all right there. We literally didn't leave. ''
— on visit to the Hall of Fame
"I had never been out there before, of course, It's nice to see how much basketball has changed.''
Landed! Thank you to everyone who traveled to CT with us! Meant everything!! #BoilerUp 🚂 1/4🤞🏾 pic.twitter.com/IM3yQywcYl
— Eric Hunter Jr. (@ebuckets2_) November 22, 2021
— on where they stand after five wins
"Like we always say, there's still plenty of room for improvement. We have no ceiling with this time and we have really high expectations for ourselves. But we also know we can get better, too.''
— on being ranked No. 3 in the country
"It feels good, especially after last year, and how the year ended, and all the work we put in all summer as a team. It just kind of boosts our confidence even more and it'll be good for us going forward. But the work never stops. We'll still keep putting in the work. Coach always says that your best is good enough, and I always take that to heart.''
— on Thanksgiving dinner
"I call it eating day. My favorite? I'm a macaroni and cheese guy, especially my mom's.''
— on Big Ten/ACC Challenge and playing Florida State
"It's also a battle with us (with Florida State) and it's always down to the wire. My freshman year they hit a game-winner at the buzzer, and then last year we went to overtime. I definitely want to get a win against them before I get out of here. That event is always fun. I remember two years ago, when we beat Virignia here after they had beaten us in the Elite Eight. It was a great atmosphere, and it's always a good measuring stick.''
Watch entire Sasha Live! Episode 4 podcast
Purdue senior guard Eric Hunter Jr. was the special guest on Monday night's Sasha Live! podcast and he had a lot to say after the Boilers' huge weekend in Connecticut. Here's the entire 30-minute podcast.
Related stories on Purdue basketball
- CALEB FURST BIG TEN FRESHMAN OF WEEK: Purdue freshman forward Caleb Furst has averaged 11.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game while shooting 13-of-17 from the field in the last three games. He also made 4-of-6 from 3-point range and was 4-of-5 from the free throw line. CLICK HERE
- TREVION WILLIAMS NAMED CO-BIG TEN PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Purdue senior forward Trevion Williams has averaged 16.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals in his last three games. He passed 1,000 career points with the Boilermakers in a victory over Wright State. CLICK HERE
- PURDUE RANKED THIRD IN AP POLL: Purdue basketball moved up to No. 3 in the AP Top 25 poll after earning victories over Wright State, North Carolina and Villanova. The team was previously ranked No. 6 in the nation after starting the season with two victories at Mackey Arena. CLICK HERE
- PURDUE TAKES DOWN VILLANOVA: Purdue battled back from down 11 points in the second half to defeat Villanova in the Hall of Fame Tip-Off Tournament on Sunday at the Mohegan Sun Casino. Sophomore center Zach Edey led the way with 21 points. CLICK HERE
- BOILERMAKERS DEFEAT NORTH CAROLINA: No. 6 Purdue had three players score 20 points or more in a 93-84 victory over No. 18 North Carolina on Saturday. CLICK HERE
Tom Brew is an award-winning journalist who's worked at some America's finest newspapers, including the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and the Indianapolis Star. He also owns the book publishing company, Hilltop30 Publishing Group, and he has written four books and published 16 others.