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Hunter is keeping his fingers crossed
Former Reynolds player hoping to be taken in NBA Draft
AP Photo
Othello Hunter was one of six players to work out for the Bobcats yesterday. He’s expected to be drafted in the second round.
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Published: June 26, 2008
CHARLOTTE
Othello Hunter plans to watch the NBA Draft tonight at home in Winston-Salem.
If everything goes according to plan, he'll be on an NBA roster by the end of the night.
Hunter is projected to be taken somewhere in the middle of the second round of tonight's draft, after climbing up many teams' draft boards with his play in two pre-draft camps and then continuing to impress teams during individual workouts.
He was one of six players to audition with the Charlotte Bobcats yesterday.
"I'm hearing second round," Hunter said. "But I really don't know. That's what we're waiting to see. But I feel good about the way my workouts have gone. It hit me like three days ago. I really expect to be in the NBA."
If he's drafted tonight, Hunter, a 6-8, 225-pound power forward, will add another chapter to what has already been an incredible basketball journey.
Hunter grew up in Winston-Salem but played just one year of organized basketball, as a senior at Reynolds. He was a contributor but hardly a star on a team that went to the Class 4-A final in 2004. From there it was on to Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Fla., and then on to Ohio State the last two seasons.
He averaged 9.9 points and 6.4 rebounds in 37 games as a starter last season. He often played a complementary role to center Kosta Koufos, who is projected to go in the first round, but he had several big games. He had 17 points and 14 rebounds against Tennessee and 11 points and 16 rebounds against California.
Hunter smiled yesterday as he talked about how far he has come in the past five years.
"I mean, I went from playing one year of high-school basketball and thinking of working in a local grocery store to where I am today," he said. "So I just thank God for giving me this opportunity. I've fought through some things and kept working and working and working. And now, I'm just waiting for the draft."
Hunter's stock started rising at the Portsmouth Invitational in Portsmouth, Va., in April. He was named to the all-tournament team, posting double-doubles in three games.
That was enough to win an invitation to the Orlando pre-draft camp last month, and he continued to play well.
Hunter said that the opportunity to play in a less-structured setting in the pre-draft camps allowed some of his talents to show. As a junior at Ohio State, he backed up Greg Oden. Then last year, he was often setting picks in the offense for Koufos and guards Jamar Butler and Jon Diebler.
"In Portsmouth, a couple of days they had me coming off screens," he said. "That was awkward for me at first because I wasn't used to it. But I thought I handled it good. Then I went to Orlando, and by then I felt like I could play with anybody, and I showed that I could play with anybody. Every game I was doing new things and doing more and doing better and better. I did more than just run the floor in Orlando. I was hitting some mid-range jump shots and facing up to the basket some, and I rebounded really well. So that went well."
In the past three weeks, he has worked out for 12 teams. But it has been such a whirlwind tour that he has lost track of some of the stops. The ones he remembers: Miami, Portland, New Orleans, Sacramento, Washington, Golden State, Dallas, Charlotte, "and some other ones."
"Twelve workouts is kind of tough, but it was good because I was going to places I've never been," he said. "The hard thing was living out of a bag for a month, and you don't have a month of clothes in that bag. You wear the same thing over and over. And it was tough coming from the West Coast to the East Coast and then back to the West Coast all the time, that kind of thing. But all but one or two of the workouts went really good."
Coach Larry Brown of the Bobcats had nice words for Hunter after yesterday's workout. The Bobcats have the 38th overall pick in the second round.
"I like him," Brown said. "He's long, athletic, real coachable. And those are things that I value. He's the kind of kid that makes you realize there are players everywhere. You've just got to uncover them."
If the Bobcats draft him, he'll be happy. But as long as his name is called, he'll be happy.
"It's always been a dream to play professional basketball, and to play here would be great because it's in North Carolina," Hunter said. "It would be nice to play at home. But if it doesn't work out, I'll play for anybody."
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