Tyjuan Hunter knows there is still plenty to prove, even after making headlines and becoming a big hit on the high school basketball stage last month.
The 5-6 junior played a starring role in leading Hope to a Class 1A state championship. His postseason numbers were eye-popping, including a combined 43 points and 21 assists in the two wins in Champaign.
There was also the special March Madness moment he provided — an 80-foot heave just before the halftime buzzer in the state semifinal win.
Hunter dazzled all season long, finishing the year averaging 23.6 points and five assists a game. This after putting up 18.1 points a game as a sophomore.
Now he embarks on a spring and summer where he will try to quiet any skeptics and draw the attention of college coaches who will certainly be hung up on his size.
“Being short, I’ve been doubted my whole life,” Hunter said. “Because at my size, they don’t have anything else to do but doubt me. Just because I’m a small guard, I can do anything anyone else can do. I just wanted the opportunity to show that I can play.”
He will get that in coming months while playing with the Mac Irvin Fire on the club basketball circuit.
Hunter plays with an “it” factor, that hard-to-define athletic quality that stands out when you see it. Just ask his coach, legendary prep star Ronnie Fields.
Fields gushes about Hunter, immediately pointing to his “will to battle” and work ethic. He lays out the appreciation he has for a player who will “pick up defensively for 94 feet” and exudes confidence that defies any diminutive player in the sport.
“He’s the player who feels like he can win no matter who he is playing with,” Fields said.
But what Fields believes sets Hunter apart from everyone else –– and something he says is harder and harder to find in players today –– is thriving on the court when it matters most.
“When you look at a player and they are in the moment, playing when it really matters, do I trust them to do it in that moment?” Fields said. “The moment is never too big for Tyuan, and I think that translates. He has the stuff, the makeup others don’t have when they’re in the moment.”
Following the 2023-24 season where Hunter led Hope to a third-place finish in Class 1A, Fields saw an improvement this past year. Hunter not only displayed his take-over ability, but he also became a table-setter. The dishing out of 21 assists in two IHSA State Finals games is further proof of his sound decision-making.
Hunter is well aware there will be doubt. There always is in a sport that emphasizes height, length and the competition you face.
“With me going to Hope, a small school, I definitely play with a chip on my shoulder,” Hunter said. “I want to show and prove I can play and that talent in 1A is the same as talent anywhere. I want to show that I’m one of the best guards in the country, not just the state, but the entire country.”