It’s tough to be loyal in today’s age of college sports, but Chase Hunter may prove that loyalty is still a thing.
It’s the sixth season for the Atlanta native in college hoops and all six have been with the Clemson men’s basketball team. It hasn’t always been set, with Hunter rumored to move to the NBA Draft following one of the best postseasons for a Clemson player in program history.
Averaging 17.8 points and 5.8 assists in Clemson’s four NCAA Tournament games last season, which led him to a spot on the All-West Region team in the tournament, Hunter tested the draft waters. However, he believed that his best choice to play basketball this season was to return to the Tigers, which he declared his return back in May.
“I wouldn’t say I always knew,” Hunter said at ACC Tipoff on Thursday. “I wanted — my dream is definitely to play in the NBA, so I wanted to try that out. I got some good feedback, had some talks with Coach [Brownell]. We thought the best decision for me was to come back.”
Chase Hunter
A now-father and mature player for this roster, the graduate guard says that his extensive tenure as an NCAA athlete is a byproduct of “running their own race”, using timing as a factor for his decision to remain with Clemson.
“Everybody has their own journey,” Hunter said. “This has been my journey. I’m proud to be on this journey. I just take it day by day. Yeah, I’m just going to keep running my own race.”
Hunter’s stretch of games made him one of March Madness’s “darlings” to watch, with numbers that made him a standout player. The team won on the biggest of stages, including a win over No. 2 Arizona at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California, home of the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers last season. What Hunter learned from the experiences was how far confidence can take him.
“I just learned that I can do it,” he said. “I learned that when I’m confident and I’m playing aggressively, I can do some big things for this team.”
Another addition to the graduate’s game is growing as a leader. Hunter is now the oldest guard in the backcourt due to the departure of Joe Girard III. His partner in the backcourt now will feature Boston College transfer Jaeden Zackery or his younger brother, Dillon, who will be looking to take another step in his junior year.
“Joe was a great player, a great guy, a great dude to play with,” Hunter said. “I learned a lot from him. But I think going into this year it’s just making sure that I keep these guys on the same page as me in the team, making sure that we get those same values that Coach instilled in me and the players that have been here.”
In terms of goals, Hunter doesn’t want to take the flowers of an All-ACC team next season, though. While the final season for the graduate guard is expected to be his best in a Tiger uniform, Hunter wants more success on “the team side” rather than his game.
“I want this team to do great things this year, being just my last year,” Hunter said. “I just want to make sure that we have a great year, make sure we make it to the tournament, that’s probably my biggest goal.”
“I wanted to come back and make more history, make more history for Clemson, do some big things here,” he added. “So that was a big reason why I wanted to come back.”
Hunter will begin his final season with the team on Nov. 4, when the Tigers will host Charleston Southern in their inaugural game of the year at Littlejohn Coliseum to open the 2024-2025 season
