PF Othello Hunter (Atlanta Hawks)

[CoosMeister]

My bad...I didn't see that 06 and 07 were broken up. I don't get that to be honest but w/e...disregard.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

The threads have been merged.....

back from the honeymoon.....nice to see Matta was hard at work.

[jimotis4heisman]

[IMG]images/statusicon/post_old.gif[/IMG] 09-09-2005, 12:40 PM
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this is all but a done deal, the fifth of the thad five...

i told you guys weeks ago

[schwab]

Welcome to the Buckeyes Othello! Q: What's round on the ends, and thell in the middle? Obviously if Matta takes him, there's potential, because the guy knows what to look for, and how to get it when he wants it. Nice addition here if you ask me.

[jimotis4heisman]

http://dispatch.com/bball/bball.php?...02.html&chck=t

COLLEGE BASKETBALL
Junior-college forward commits to OSU
Wednesday, September 28, 2005
Bob Baptist
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Other schools threw scholarship offers at Othello Hunter in the three weeks after he visited Ohio State. They did not sway the 6-foot-9, 220-pound juniorcollege prospect, who late Monday telephoned coach Thad Matta and committed to fill the power-forward slot in the "Thad Five" recruiting class of 2006.
"I found what I wanted," Hunter said yesterday of his visit to Ohio State the weekend of the season-opening football game against Miami University. "How many people were in the stadium was ridiculous."
Hunter, a sophomore at Hillsborough Community College in Tampa, Fla., hopes he and the rest of the 2006 class — highschool seniors Daequan Cook of Dayton, David Lighty of Cleveland and Greg Oden and Mike Conley Jr. of Indianapolis — will routinely fill Value City Arena someday.
"I wanted to be in a good program and try to get a championship" Hunter said.
Hunter also visited Colorado and Texas-El Paso. He fielded late offers from Kansas State, Oklahoma and Southern California, Hillsborough coach Derrick Worrels said, "but his father said unless he was serious about it, they were just clouding up the picture for him."
Hunter averaged 8.8 points and 5.8 rebounds and shot 54.6 percent from the field last season. He did not play high-school basketball in his native Winston-Salem, N.C., until his senior year.
"He’s got a lot of untapped talent and potential," his highschool coach, Howard West, said.
Matta has not closed the door on adding a sixth player in the 2006 class. Canton McKinley forward Raymar Morgan, who will visit Michigan State this weekend, still has an offer and other junior-college sophomores are being evaluated by the staff.

[Bucktastic]

WELCOME ABOARD OTHELLO!!!!!!!!

Sounds like a great role player. Perfect fit for this class.

[jwinslow]

Considering the elite players we are bringing in, this kid must have some game. Plus he will probably be much more ready to contribute being a Juco.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

scout.com$

9/29/05

Hunter turned the heads of the OSU staff at a summer camp for the top JUCO players. He is 6-9 and 215 pounds with the ability to add at least 20 pounds to his frame. He is viewed as having a lot of potential and his game is basically rebounding, blocking shots and running the floor at this point.

[scooter1369]

I almost missed this with things being so quiet lately. Great pick up by Matta. What a great job by the coaching staff. I'll have to mention it when I see them next.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

They needed someone who could do "the dirty work" like rebounding and playing defense and according to all reports, Hunter fits that role.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

ScoutHoops.com (free)

9/29/05

Ohio State Rounds Out Fab 5


Othello Hunter

By Jeff Goodman National Recruiting Analyst
Date: Sep 29, 2005

Ohio State has already snagged four of the nation's top players in the Class of 2006 - and the Buckeyes added another guy to give it a Fab 5-caliber group.

Ohio State coach Thad Matta has completed his Fab 5 recruiting class and it’s none other than … Othello Hunter.


Othello Hunter?

Yep. The 6-foot-9, 225-pound Hillsborough Community College (Fla.) sophomore power forward, who has only been playing basketball for about three years, committed to the Buckeyes, rounding out perhaps the most highly touted recruiting class since the Michigan class back in 1991.

Matta received plenty of headlines with his stellar recruiting class that includes the nation’s top player, Greg Oden, and a trio of other elite kids – Mike Conley (No. 25), Daequan Cook (No. 16) and David Lighty (No. 29).
Hunter comes in with no reputation.

Hunter is a true power forward who barely played when he was teammates with North Carolina sophomore Reyshawn Terry at Reynolds High (N.C.).

``He’s a hidden gem,” Hillsborough coach Derrick Worrels said. “He’s only been playing for three years. He didn’t start for us until midway through last season.”

Worrels said the improvement in Hunter’s game is impressive – almost daily progress.

``He can play with his back to the basket and also knock down the 15-footer,” Worrels added. “He’s a shot-blocker who is extremely long. He runs the floor like a gazelle.” For someone whose only been playing the game for a little while, he’s got a high basketball IQ.”

Hunter averaged about 11 points and 6.5 rebounds per game as a freshman, but Worrel cautions people to be careful about the numbers. He put up 16 points and 11 boards per contest in conference play down the stretch as a starter.

Hunter was also looking at South Florida, Colorado, Oklahoma and USC. ``Ohio State had been pursuing him the longest and although he wasn’t the biggest name they were looking at, they had truly made a commitment to him and told him how important he was to them,” Worrels said.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

rivals.com$

9/30/05

Hunter has not met any of the other recruits in his class. Has never seen them play. Hunter said he watched film of Oden on the net and said basically that he seemed like a pretty good post player (must be a joke). He holds a 3.3 GPA and after he transfers he will have two years at OSU.

[OSUBasketballJunkie]

With Hunter in the fold at this point, this allows Matta and the staff the kind of player who will be able to rebound and is willing to rebound, which will definetly keep the defenses from collapsing on Oden, he has scoring ability and plays physical.

When teams double team Oden this will open up things for Hunter when they are on the court at the same time.

[Oh8ch]

FWIW Scout has made Hunter a 4 star player. Their first 9 PFs are 5 star, and they run 4 stars through #25 followed by Hunter and one other JC. Since JCs are always listed last within a 'star group' you can reasonably make the argument that he is in the top 25 at his position.

Since all but one of those twenty-five 4 and 5 star PFs are rated in Scout's top 100 you can also make a reasonable argument that Hunter is a top 100 get. (I don't think they have any JCs listed in the top 100 and you know that isn't valid.)

[bucknut11]

So you're reasonably trying to say we finally got a 5 star, top-100 bball recruit?? It's about time!