3-star forward Sammy Hunter commits to Ole Miss over Arkansas and Oklahoma

Kermit Davis and the Ole Miss basketball team just wrapped up Square Jam, their annual celebration in downtown Oxford that basketball season is near. And now after another successful three-point shooting contest and dunk competition, our tea lizard dad is still sippin’ that tea as he gains yet another commitment for the 2019 class.

Three-star power forward Sammy Hunter was in attendance for Square Jam and it was clearly enough to convince him to pull the trigger and become a Rebel. The Bahama native verbally committed to Davis and the new Rebel staff, joining Antavion Collum, Rodney Howard, and Bryce Williams in this year’s class.

Hunter chose the Rebels over early offers from Auburn, Arkansas, Colorado State, Grand Canyon, Kansas State, Oklahoma, and Western Kentucky. He recently made his senior men’s national team debut earlier this summer at the Central American and Caribbean Games in Barranquilla, Colombia.

He also played for the CBC U16 Championship team in 2016, averaging 12 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. Then, next season, he played on the Centrobasket U17 Championship team where he averaged 14.6 points and 6.8 rebounds.

How does he fit in?

Despite some pretty good early offers, the 6’9, 230-pound forward is still relatively unknown and rather raw on the court. But, he is getting plenty of reps at BCBP. Hunter told Renaldo Dorsett of the Bahamas Tribune that he feels like he is already in college.

“The prep school experience, it feels like you’re in college already. You have to send out your school work while on trips, we play 40-plus games, we travel a lot so you find a way to fit in with time management.”

That larger than normal schedule for a teenager is going to help his game grow well before he gets to Oxford after signing to join the 2019 class. In fact, he got a chance to play against North Carolina and Notre Dame this summer. And he put on a show. He dropped 20 points and 10 rebounds against the Tar Heels and then filled it up with 19 points and nine rebounds against the Fighting Irish.

Watching him on film, I get a lot of Zach Randolph vibes. He’s got a real old school-type game to him. He’s very fundamental on the block, shares the basketball well, and rebounds well with precise positioning. The Z-Bo style is then pushed further due to Sammy being far more athletic than the Kings big man. But, he’s not just a low block, back-to-the-basket type forward. Sammy has no problem stretching the floor and pulling the trigger from deep. And he’s got a soft touch from three that will be a weapon once he arrives at The Pavilion.

He is certainly someone who is only going to get better in Kermit’s scheme and will be a fun one to watch in the coming years.

Highlights