James Hunter (basketball)

James Paton Hunter (born 19 June 1991) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Knox Raiders of the NBL1. He also holds a New Zealand passport that he obtained as a teenager.[1]

James Hunter
No. 13 – Knox Raiders
PositionCentre
LeagueNBL1
Personal information
Born (1991-06-19) 19 June 1991
Nowra, New South Wales
NationalityAustralian / New Zealand
Listed height208 cm (6 ft 10 in)
Listed weight113 kg (249 lb)
Career information
High schoolCranbrook School
(Sydney, New South Wales)
College
NBA draft2015 / Undrafted
Playing career2009–present
Career history
2009–2011Sydney Comets
2015Manawatu Jets
2015–2016CB Zamora
2016Ballarat Miners
2017–2018Southland Sharks
2017–2018New Zealand Breakers
2019–presentKnox Raiders
Career highlights and awards

Early life

Hunter was born in Nowra, New South Wales but spent much of his childhood living with his grandmother in Taumarunui, New Zealand.[1] He attended Cranbrook School in the eastern suburbs of Sydney where he was selected to represent Australia as part of the Australian Schoolboys' basketball team which traveled to the United States to compete in tournaments throughout North Carolina over a two-week period. He was also selected for the NSW Schoolboys State team and competed in the School Sport Australia Basketball Championship. Hunter also played rugby during his time at Cranbrook.[2]

Between 2009 and 2011, Hunter also played in the Waratah League for the Sydney Comets.[3]

College career

In 2010, Hunter moved to the United States to attend Gillette College. After redshirting the 2010–11 season, he joined the Pronghorns men's basketball team for a lone season in 2011–12. He transferred to Washington State in 2012[4][5] where he played for the Cougars over two seasons, appearing in 18 games and totalling 17 points and seven rebounds.[6]

In May 2014, Hunter transferred again, this time to South Dakota where in 2014–15, he averaged 5.8 points and 3.5 rebounds in 32 games.[6]

Professional career

On 30 April 2015, Hunter signed with the Manawatu Jets for the rest of the 2015 New Zealand NBL season.[7] In eight games for the Jets, he averaged 10.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.[8]

In September 2015, Hunter signed with Grupo INEC Zamora of the Spanish Liga EBA for the 2015–16 season.[9]

On 2 February 2016, Hunter signed with the Ballarat Miners for the 2016 SEABL season.[10] He was awarded SEABL Player of the Week for Round 19.[11] In 15 games for the Miners, he averaged 11.5 points and 6.3 rebounds per game.[12]

In September 2016, Hunter joined the Wellington Saints for their Asia Basketball Club Championships campaign in Seoul, South Korea.[13]

On 9 November 2016, Hunter signed with the Southland Sharks for 2017 New Zealand NBL season.[14] In 18 games for the Sharks, he averaged 7.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game.

On 11 July 2017, Hunter signed with the New Zealand Breakers for the 2017–18 NBL season.[15][16] On 8 January 2018, he was released by the Breakers.[17] He appeared in two games for the Breakers, totalling five points.[18]

On 20 October 2017, Hunter re-signed with the Southland Sharks for the 2018 season.[19]

On 18 February 2019, Hunter signed with the Knox Raiders for the 2019 NBL1 season.[20][21]

National team career

Hunter played for New Zealand in the 2017 FIBA Asia Cup.[22]

Personal

Hunter is the son of musicians Todd Hunter and Johanna Pigott.[1] He also has an older brother, Harry, and a younger brother, Joey.[2] His grandmother is Fijian.[15]

References
  1. James Hunter just as skilled at music as basketball
  2. "#13 James Hunter". wsucougars.com. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  3. "Player statistics for James Hunter – Waratah". FoxSportsPulse.com. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  4. WSU Signs Another Aussie, James Hunter From JC
  5. James Hunter: WSU makes it official
  6. "#50 James Hunter". WashingtonPost.com. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  7. James Hunter signs with Hub Jets NZ
  8. "Player statistics for James Hunter – NZNBL". FoxSportsPulse.com. Retrieved 28 June 2015.
  9. El CB Zamora ficha al australiano James Hunter (in Spanish)
  10. Hunter Becomes a Miner
  11. ROUND 19 PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
  12. "Player statistics for James Hunter – SEABL". FoxSportsPulse.com. Archived from the original on 16 August 2016. Retrieved 16 August 2016.
  13. Hyslop, Liam (15 September 2016). "Wellington Saints to play in Asia Basketball Club Championship in South Korea". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 15 September 2016.
  14. Savory, Logan (9 November 2016). "Southland Sharks sign naturalised Kiwi". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  15. "SKYCITY BREAKERS SIGN HUNTER TO FULLTIME ROSTER". NZBreakers.co.nz. 11 July 2017. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  16. Hinton, Marc (11 July 2017). "NZ Breakers hope new signing James Hunter can hit right note in ANBL debut". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
  17. France, Marvin (8 January 2018). "Christmas comes for Breakers as former NBA centre signed". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  18. "James Hunter". NBL.com.au. Retrieved 8 January 2018.
  19. Hinton, Marc (20 October 2017). "Breakers big man James Hunter re-signs with Southland Sharks for 2018 NBL season". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 20 October 2017.
  20. "Knox Raiders Senior Men sign James Hunter". knoxbasketball.com.au. 18 February 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  21. "James Hunter set to tame Kilsyth Cobras in Knox Raiders debut". southcoastregister.com.au. 30 March 2019. Retrieved 5 July 2019.
  22. "Hunter's Tall Blacks off to winning start". southcoastregister.com.au. 9 August 2017. Retrieved 14 April 2019.
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