Ben Hunt (basketball)

Ben Hunt (born 6 June 1978) is an Australian former professional basketball player. He began his basketball career in the SEABL with the Bendigo Braves before playing four years of college basketball in the United States. He then had a two-year stint in the National Basketball League (NBL) with the Perth Wildcats.

Ben Hunt
Personal information
Born (1978-06-06) 6 June 1978
Bendigo, Victoria
NationalityAustralian
Listed height188 cm (6 ft 2 in)
Listed weight82 kg (181 lb)
Career information
High schoolBendigo Senior Secondary College
(Bendigo, Victoria)
College
NBA draft2006 / Undrafted
Playing career1994–2008
PositionPoint guard
Career history
1994–2001Bendigo Braves
2003Bendigo Braves
2004Ballarat Miners
2006–2008Perth Wildcats
2007–2008Willetton Tigers
Career highlights and awards
  • All-SBL Second Team (2007)
  • All-SBL Third Team (2008)
  • 2× All-SEABL South Team (2000, 2001)
  • SEABL South Youth Player of the Year (2000)
  • NAIA D1 National Tournament winner (2006)
  • NAIA D1 All-Tournament Team (2006)
  • Second-team NAIA D1 All-American (2006)
  • RRAC Co-Player of the Year (2006)
  • 2× First-team All-RRAC (2005, 2006)

Early life and career

Hunt was born in Bendigo, Victoria, and attended Bendigo Senior Secondary College.[1] He made his debut for the Bendigo Braves in the SEABL in 1994.[2] He played every year for the Braves until 2001.[2] He earned All-SEABL South Conference Team honours in 2000 and 2001, and was named the SEABL South Conference Youth Player of the Year in 2000.[3]

College career

Between 2001 and 2003, Hunt played Division I college basketball in the United States for the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks.[4] In 57 games over two seasons, he averaged 6.8 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.[5]

Hunt returned to Australia in 2003 and played a ninth season for the Braves.[2] In 2004, he left the Braves and played the SEABL season with the Ballarat Miners.[2]

Hunt returned to the United States in 2004 to play his final two college seasons at Texas Wesleyan University of the Red River Athletic Conference (RRAC) in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA). With the Rams, Hunt earned first-team All-RRAC in both 2004–05 and 2005–06, to go with winning Co-Player of the Year in 2005–06. He was also second-team All-American, All-NAIA National Tournament and Texas Wesleyan Athlete of the Year in 2005–06.[6] He led the Rams to the 2006 NAIA Division 1 national championship, scoring a career-high 34 points and hitting the game winning shot in the title game.[7]

Professional career

In March 2006, Hunt had an unsuccessful trial with the Dallas Mavericks of the NBA.[8] He received another opportunity with the Mavericks in July 2006 when he joined the team for the NBA Summer League.[8]

Following his Summer League stint, Hunt returned to Australia and joined the Perth Wildcats for the 2006–07 NBL season.[9] In his rookie season, he averaged 3.6 points in 30 games.[10] He remained in Perth during the 2007 off-season and played for the Willetton Tigers in the State Basketball League (SBL), where he earned All-SBL second team honours.[11] With the Wildcats in 2007–08, he averaged 4.3 points in 31 games.[10] A point guard for his entire career, Hunt took on the challenge of shooting guard during his second season with the Wildcats.[12] Following the NBL season, he re-joined the Willetton Tigers for the SBL season, where he earned All-SBL third team honours.[13]

National team career

In 2005, Hunt played for the Australian University National Team at the Summer Universiade in İzmir, Turkey. He scored a game-high 28 points in a quarter-final loss to the United States.[14]

Personal life

Hunt is the son of Peter and Ricki, and he has an older brother, Josh.[12] Hunt is married to wife Erin.[12]

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References
  1. "Ben Hunt". NBL.com.au. Archived from the original on 23 August 2006.
  2. "Player statistics for Ben Hunt – SEABL". SportsTG.com. Archived from the original on 1 June 2020.
  3. "SEABL All Time Awards Winners" (PDF). seabl.com.au. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 December 2014.
  4. "'Jacks Sign Two More To Letters Of Intent". sfajacks.com. 25 April 2001. Archived from the original on 1 June 2020.
  5. "Ben Hunt College Stats". Sports-Reference.com. Archived from the original on 1 June 2020.
  6. "Award Winners". ramsports.net. Archived from the original on 1 June 2020.
  7. "Ben Hunt '07 to be inducted to the Texas Wesleyan Athletic Hall of Fame, Nov. 1". txwes.edu. 23 October 2019. Archived from the original on 1 June 2020.
  8. "Hunt to play in summer league with Dallas". bendigoadvertiser.com.au. 6 July 2006. Archived from the original on 1 June 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  9. "Hunt makes mark in NBL". bendigoadvertiser.com.au. 11 October 2006. Archived from the original on 1 June 2020. Retrieved 1 June 2020.
  10. "Player statistics for Ben Hunt – NBL". SportsTG.com. Archived from the original on 1 June 2020.
  11. "State Basketball League 2007 Awards" (PDF). SBL.asn.au. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 April 2020.
  12. "Ben keen to stay a Wildcat". bendigoadvertiser.com.au. 24 March 2008. Archived from the original on 23 July 2016.
  13. "State Basketball League 2008 Awards" (PDF). SBL.asn.au. Archived (PDF) from the original on 14 April 2020.
  14. "GONZALEZ AND USA WUG TEAM STEAMROLL AUSTRALIA TO ADVANCE TO SEMIFINALS". gojaspers.com. 18 August 2005. Archived from the original on 1 June 2020. Hunt, who played collegiately at Stephen F. Austin State University, connected on three 3-point field goals in the quarter and ended the game with a game-high 28 points.
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