Illinois State's Bobby Hunter says shoe shopping is one of his hobbies outside of basketball. (Photo courtesy GoRedbirds.com)
By Bryan Bloodworth
NORMAL – Bobby Hunter describes his arrival at Illinois State “as a journey.”
It began at Bishop Manogue High School in Reno (Nev.). From there, he took his basketball talents to Oregon Tech in Falls (Ore.) where he earned first-team NAIA Division II All-American status while averaging 20.2 points per game and leading the Owls to the national championship in 2012.
Then it was off to Santa Fe Junior College in New Mexico where he finished the season as the second-leading scorer among Division I junior college players with a 25.2 average and became the school’s first-first-team All-American selection.
He was then recruited by assistant coach Torrey Ward to become a Redbird.
“It’s been a journey that’s for sure, but I’m glad I’m here,” said Hunter, who admits he had never heard of Illinois State or even knew Bloomington or Normal even existed before Ward came calling. “I love Bloomington-Normal, besides the cold,” he added. “That’s definitely something I had to get used to, but other than that I’ve had a great time since I’ve been here.”
ISU fans are indeed glad Hunter arrived on the scene two years ago. Last year the 5-foot-10 guard led the team in assists (2.4) and steals (1.5), while ranking near the top in scoring (10.5) and field goal percentage (48.2).
Hunter said it was his success, in part, in the NAIA that proved to him he could play at a higher level.
“That had something to do with it,” he added, “and growing up I always dreamed of playing at the highest level of college basketball. And having the success at the NAIA level gave me the confidence and assurance that I at least deserved a chance at playing at the Division I level.”
Hunter is once again among the team leaders in several categories despite the fact he isn’t in the starting lineup this year.
“My role is to be a sparkplug off the bench, being an aggressor offensively and defensively, and shoot the 3-ball at a high percentage,” he said. “When I come off the bench I’m of a mindset that my teammates have the ball going. Now it’s my turn to come in and pick it up another notch.
“My thing is not coming in and shooting right away, it’s finishing where guys left off. Still passing the ball, but if I have an open shot to knock it down and make defensive plays to get the team rolling in a good direction and mainly just being the energizer off the bench.”
Hunter, who is averaging 9.7 points, 2.5 rebounds and shooting 49.6 percent from the field, said the role fits his personality.
“It doesn’t matter whether I start or come off the bench. I’m still going to be that person who gives 110 percent offensively and defensively. That fits who I am,” he continued. “I’m all about the team and at the end of the day I’m all about us winning. I’m not worried about individual statistics. I’m just worried about us getting the W at the end of the day.”
As a senior, Hunter believes it’s also his role to provide leadership.
“Our team this year has grown in different ways,” he said. “Last year we struggled on the road, but we were good at home. This year it’s kind of been vice versa, so that’s something we need to fix.
“Last year we had guys who wanted to be here, but it was everybody’s first time playing at the Division I level. We didn’t really have four or five guys who were here to kind of help us get adjusted, so we were all kind of adjusting to it together.
“This year having three seniors (Daishon Knight, John Jones and himself) and a few returning guys who are younger to help the new guys come in and get adjusted has been a big advantage for us. All we can do is learn from our mistakes and keep growing as a team because the season’s not over yet. We still have half the conference season left, so we still have time to get our stuff right and make a run.”
The Redbirds are 13-8 overall and sit in fifth place in the Missouri Valley Conference with a 5-4 record, but Hunter believes the team has a high ceiling.
“This team can be big time,” he added. “We just all have to get on that same page. There are some days when we’re all on the same page and there are some days when we have our letdowns. We just have to be consistent – not necessarily always playing at a high level every time, but if we can get a consistent effort from everyone that’s going to lead to those big time runs where we win three, four or five in a row and give ourselves a good spot going into the conference tournament. This team has very high potential. We just have to find a way to put that in order and make it useful.”
Away from basketball, Hunter’s hobby is shopping for shoes.
“I got it from my mom,” he admitted. “When I was growing up she always had a different pair of shoes to match her purse. Playing basketball growing up, you always wanted to have the best pair of shoes. Me and my teammates – it wasn’t necessarily a competition, but going to tournaments you always tried to find the best shoes out there.
“I was fortunate enough at the time that my foot was a lot smaller than everybody else’s, so my shoes were always 50 to 60 dollars cheaper, so I was able to buy a lot more shoes. I love shoes. I like finding the shoes that have different colors and are unique. I’m not so much into dress shows, mainly just running shoes because I like to run. I like to find different types of running shoes.” And how many pairs of shoes does Hunter own.
“A lot,” he said. “I still have some back home with my parents and some in Reno, so I have a good amount of shoes. Probably close to 100 pairs. My favorite color is orange and I like to shop at the Nike outlet. That’s where I go to find all my shoes.”
But being a shoe shopper isn’t the way Hunter wants ISU fans to remember him when his playing days are over.
“I want them to say that he was a great guy on and off the court and he left everything on the court,” he said. “That he loved the game. That he loved being out there on the court and he loved everyone being around him. That he always tried to make everyone around him a better person.”
Bryan Bloodworth can be reached at [email protected].
