In what I thought was unexpected news this afternoon, Purdue’s senior point guard Eric Hunter Jr. has entered the transfer portal, according to all the basketball reporters on Twitter. Sorry I don’t know who had it first.
Purdue guard Eric Hunter Jr. went to portal, portal told me.
Averaged 6.2 points last season and shot 44 percent from 3.
– Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) April 21, 2022
This news follows the announcement about two weeks ago that Hunter Jr. would enter the NBA draft but retain his extra year of eligibility with an opportunity to return to college.
Interesting that Hunter Jr. announced this on his own account, but as of this writing, there hasn’t been a tweet about his decision to enter the transfer portal. Like many of you, I assumed that when he said he was putting his name on the draft but retaining his eligibility because he was considering returning to Purdue to capitalize on his Covid year. While I suppose that’s still possible, it looks unlikely.
Yes, while it’s true that Kofi Cockburn did the same thing last year, signed up for the draft, entered the portal, but then returned to Illinois, that’s the exception rather than the rule. So now Hunter Jr. is coming to the open market.
Hunter Jr., of course, really turned his season around mid-year. He became an integral part of the team when Thompson started struggling. Hunter has averaged 25.8 minutes this season, down from 30.6 a year ago, plus 6.2 ppg, down from 8.5, and 2.0 assists, down from 2.8. While I don’t think anyone would argue that it was his best year at Purdue, he has truly emerged as a difference maker for Purdue after a difficult start to the season on track.
Hunter Jr. now has the opportunity to play college basketball elsewhere for another year. He will go home with a Purdue degree and a memorable four-year career in the Big Ten. I can’t blame him for taking every opportunity out there for him and I wish him the best.
Given this news, questions remain about next year’s team. With both Hunter Jr. and Thompson now transferring, it leaves a glaring hole at the point guard spot. Purdue is of course waiting for news about the transfer of Nijel Pack from the state of Kansas, who has visited Purdue, Miami (FL) and the state of Ohio. A decision could be made by the end of the month. The prevailing hope online is that Hunter Jr.’s announcement means that news about Pack could be forthcoming. I don’t know if that’s the case, but it makes some semblance of sense. However, in this new world of transfer portal, it’s hard to tell what’s real and what’s meaningful. Purdue, of course, signed a point guard in the class of 2022 in Braden Smith, but I’m not sure how much you really want to rely on a freshman point guard to be not just your starter, but realistically the only point guard on the squad is. Let’s hope Pack gets some good news here soon.
In the meantime, let’s all thank Eric Hunter Jr. for being a great representative for Purdue. Congratulations on your Purdue graduation and if you decide to go elsewhere I wish him the best of luck (unless he should play Purdue).