Hunter's stock elevates, sets three official visits

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One of the bigger stock risers in the country during the July recruiting periods was Chase Hunter, an athletic 6-foot-3 shooting guard out of Georgia. He wasted no time going to work right when the first recruiting period started by going for 26 points in a matchup against Jaden Springer and B-Maze Elite with a number of coaches in the stands watching.

One of the coaches standing courtside was Michigan State’s Tom Izzo. He put in a call to Hunter after the game, which turned into a scholarship offer earlier this week. Over the course of July, he also added offers from Georgia, Georgia Tech, Houston, Oklahoma, Providence, Virginia and Wake Forest with some interest from Indiana coming in too.

With July behind him and his senior year of school starting Monday, it’s time for Hunter to move forward planning out visits. He already has dates set with Clemson (Aug. 17), Oklahoma (Aug. 24th), and Georgia (Aug. 31). Look for Michigan State and Virginia to get the final two trips.

Clemson: “The best relationship I have is with [Clemson assistant Antonio Reynolds-Dean]. He calls me every day. I watched them in the NCAA Tournament against Auburn. I like how they play. Their coaches compared me to Marcquise Reed because I can score.”

Georgia: “They really want me to get up there and see the campus again and talk to them more. Tom Crean has been telling me a lot about my game and how he can help me with certain things. He compared me to Victor Oladipo. He said he wasn’t that highly recruited out of high school, but he worked with them. I’ve talked to Amir [Abdur-Rahim] and [Chad] Dollar a lot too.”

Michigan State: “I like Coach Izzo. He’s a great coach. They’ve been saying they want me to come visit, see the school, and they talked about how they develop their players too.”

Oklahoma: “(Lon Kruger) told me I could come in and play a big role like Trae Young and Buddy Hield. He said he’s developed a lot of pros and he thinks I could come in and do the same thing.”

Virginia: “I like the school. My mom is very good friends with the athletic director, Carla Williams, because she came from Georgia. I have a good relationship with the coach too. He called me right when we landed in Vegas. He was talking about the school, how they develop their kids, and he said he thinks he could help me possibly get to the NBA.”

Despite all the new recruiting attention, Hunter is ready to start moving forward with the process. He didn’t say his list is final, but it’s highly likely the five schools he talked with us about are the schools he’s moving forward with. He plans to take all his visits during August and September with a decision coming shortly after he completes the visits.

Each school has a real shot here. Clemson has the best relationship and has been recruiting him the longest. With his brother, linebacker Jaden Hunter, on Georgia’s football team and both parents being former Georgia athletes, the family pull is strong for the Bulldogs. Tom Izzo and Lon Kruger both have long track records of coaching high level players and winning a lot of games, which has him intrigued. Tony Bennett has a lot of the same going for him, plus his boss happens to be very good friends with Hunter’s mother.