Taking A Look at Indiana Commit Jerome Hunter

Jerome Hunter, a 6-foot-7 small forward from Pickerington North High School in Pickerington, Ohio, announced his commitment to Archie Miller and the Indiana Hoosiers on July 17 via his Twitter page.

A four-star forward and the 51st overall prospect in the class of 2018 according to 247, Hunter's final five along with the Hoosiers involved Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Michigan, and Xavier.

"I heard a lot of good things about Archie. I heard a lot of good things about the school," Hunter said in an interview with Inside the Hall on why he chose the Hoosiers. "I heard the fan base is great. The academics are great. The campus, the students love it there I've just heard a bunch of great things about Indiana."

Shortly after fellow four-star Race Thompson announced his pledge to the Hoosiers, Hunter continued to add gas to the flame and became the second commit for newly hired head coach Archie Miller in a matter of 24 hours.

Hunter took an unofficial visit to Bloomington on June 24 and then trimmed his list of schools to five two days after the tour of the campus which included a scholarship offer from Indiana.

After Archie Miller and other members of the IU coaching staff had watched Hunter play multiple times on the AAU circuit with his Ohio Nova throughout the summer, a healthy relationship came about, and Hunter felt it was time to commit to the Hoosiers.

The first thing that stands out when you watch Hunter is his fluidity on the offensive end and his scoring ability from the perimeter which makes him such a highly-touted prospect.

At 6-foot-7, Hunter is the perfect size at the small forward position for the college game and knows how to use his terrific frame to his advantage. Hunter is at his behind the three-point arc, especially in the catch and shoot scenario.

Good teammates would know when they're playing with a shooter on their team, if they attack the lane, defenses will start to crash on them which opens up the perimeter and allows open three-point jumpers.

Put a fundamentally sound point guard on the floor with Hunter who can drive to the basket and is enough of a threat to score and pass the ball as he's making his way to the hoop will give Hunter opportunities almost every time down the floor.

Not only would Hunter be a key target in penetration, but also in different offensive scenarios such as being a screener and leaking out behind the three-point line for an easy triple.

The only caveat with being such a great catch and shoot player is this isn't high school ball anymore. Hunter is playing in one of the best conferences in the country, and for him to see a lot of minutes, he's going to have to add another dimension to his game and become more than a set shooter.

Factoring in the ability to attack the rim off the bounce will open up so many doors for Hunter's game. Adding strength to his build will be key in the development of an inside game for Hunter as he roughly weighs in at about 195 lbs which isn't ideal for a Big Ten forward.

I wouldn't be too worried about Hunter adding on muscle to his frame during the summer before his freshman year because IU strength and conditioning coach Clif Marshall is turning current players into the Hulk these past 12 weeks he's been in charge.

While I may have made it sound necessary that Hunter adds an inside game to his arsenal, I think most of his time will be spent out on the perimeter while bruisers Race Thompson, De'Ron Davis, control the paint.

Hunter has the tools to become a versatile scorer down the line and will build continue to build on his strength of shooting from the perimeter. He and recent fellow IU commit Damezi Anderson, who is a member of the class of 2019, are very similar as they both have great length for their position and know how to stroke it from deep, but also have promise in becoming more than a three-point marksmen in their future.