2023-24 MBB Preview: Hunter returns to take the helm at SSU
Just six years ago, Michael Hunter was helping former SSU head coach DeLano Thomas with the building blocks to what ended up becoming a national championship unit and a perennial conference and national tournament contender.
Now, Hunter's got the chance to lead the program in his direction.
Following a year at River States Conference foe Saint-Mary-of-the-Woods just outside of Terre Haute, Ind., Hunter is now back at Shawnee State after first serving as Thomas' top assistant for the Bears for the 2017-18 and 2018-19 seasons.
The Columbus native and Whetstone High School graduate developed himself into a starter at Columbus State Community College and then Ohio Northern at the NCAA Division III level before enjoying a successful coaching journey that has continued for more than 15 years across the NAIA, NJCAA, and NCAA Division III levels, is looking to guide the ship in a similar way to his predecessor.
Hunter is the third straight hire in the program who is from the Columbus metro area, joining Thomas (Beechcroft HS) and former Shawnee State head coach and athletic director Jeff Hamilton (Thomas Worthington HS).
"I am excited to be back," Hunter said. "DeLano made this program into a perennial winner, so we don't have any excuses to keep from winning. We're going to be young, we're going to be hungry, and we expect to go out and compete for a championship. That's the goal. We're always looking to win as many games as possible, take care of our home floor, and win all of our games at home and give our best to accumulate wins on the road to get us to 20-win seasons."
Hunting Success: From the City League to the Cave
Before Shawnee State, Hunter also served as the head coach at Lakeland Community College at the National Junior College Athletic Association level, where he helped Lakeland accumulate an Elite Eight finish as well as the school's longest in-season winning streak at 20 games and the program's best single-season record at 26-2.
That success helped Hunter earn an opportunity at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods – where Hunter helped the Pomeroys' men's basketball program go from one win in 2021-22 to 10 last season.
"That got me the experience of a program that was starting from scratch, with an athletic program that had men's basketball for just a year," Hunter said of Saint-Mary-of-the-Woods. "I was able to learn the league while we built ourselves up. Going from one win to 10 wins in that first year just showed the people and myself that we could do it and that it was only a matter of time before we could win some championships."
Much of Hunter's inspiration to coach came from his playing experiences at Columbus State and Ohio Northern as well as his time playing in the ultra-competitive Columbus City League while at Whetstone, where growing up, Hunter watched guys like Kenny Gregory (Columbus Independence) and perennial NBA All-Star Michael Redd (Columbus West) go off to successful college and pro careers.
"They just let me know that I could do it," Hunter said. "Kenny Gregory and Mike Redd were the first big ones. They let you know that you could go out and do something big, make the Final Four, and make it to the NBA and showed that if you handled your business coming from an inner-city school, did well in the classroom, and kept your nose clean off of the court, you could do special things."
Joining Hunter on the Shawnee State coaching staff are Chander Fontino – who assisted Hunter in his lone season at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods – and Brent Gaither.
"I knew Chandler has a high IQ for the game, and I knew I could help him fill out the edges," Hunter said. "He's been a godsend as far as being on the same page as me and helping me be hungry and building those relationships that coaches get separated from these guys. Chandler's been really good. Brent is a class act. Even though he's a young guy, he's polished, and I think that I have two of the better assistants in the league. We'll continue to help groom them and push them to where they want to be."
The Lay of the Land
The 2023-24 version of the Bears has two returning letter winners on its roster in the former of Tre Beard – who Hunter dubbed as 'The Mayor of Portsmouth' – and Feisal Crumby iii. Beard shot 38.1 percent from three-point range and averaged 4.1 points per contest as one of six players to play in all 30 contests, while Crumby, Jr. played in an additional 15 contests.
"Tre and Feisal are great people, great workers, and great teammates, and we're excited to see what they're both going to be able to do moving forward. Both of those guys are going to help us greatly."
Beard's leadership – considering his acumen as a key role player in Shawnee State's run toward the 2021 NAIA National Championship as a freshman – will be key, according to Hunter.
"That, in itself – going on that run, seeing those types of players that you see in making that push, and seeing what it takes to get there – he's going to be able to present a different outlook that helps us, and our coaching staff as well," Hunter said. "I'm not going to pretend like I know everything – I want player input. His having that experience is instrumental for our team. He's a leader already."
Speaking of winners, Hunter has brought in a pair of winners at the guard spots.
John Dawson, a native of Huntington, W. Va. who won multiple West Virginia Secondary School Activities Commission (WVSSAC) Class AAA State Championships at Huntington High School, has transferred to Shawnee State for his senior season.
"John is a winner," Hunter said. "He has a knack for knowing how to make the winning plays."
Landon Ray, a 5-8 guard from Jackson, Mississippi, who is transferring in from Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, and Blaec Bugher, a 5-9 guard from Williamsport who attended Westfall High School out of the nearby Scioto Valley Conference, add depth to the backcourt.
Then, there's 6-1 sharpshooter Elkin Ramirez, who averaged nine points a contest at Saint-Mary-of-the-Woods last season while being one of only three players on the roster to play in all 27 contests last season. Ramirez, whom Hunter referred to as "a knockdown shooter," shot a blistering 40.8 percent from long distance.
A familiar last name to the program also joins the Shawnee State roster for the 2023-24 campaign as EJ Hubbert – the younger brother of former SSU men's basketball letter winner Michael Hubbert – also joins the roster. Hubbert, who played at Countryside High School in Tampa, Florida, averaged 5.4 points per game and three rebounds per contest while shooting 43.6 percent from the field.
"His Mom called me and said, 'Hey, I have another son. He's not getting recruited that highly,'" Hunter said. "I said, 'Hey, come on!' EJ had a great year and started a lot of games for us as a freshman."
Diving further down the roster, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods transfer Keith Germain, along with Chaze Harris and Tyreke Johnson, who is back in the fold with Hunter after playing under the bright-minded head man at Lakeland, each have tantalizing ability at 6-5, 6-5, and 6-6, respectively.
As a freshman at Lakeland in 2021-22, Harris, a native of Bedford, averaged 15.8 points per game, 6.2 rebounds per contest, and dished out four assists per bout while shooting 59.3 percent from the field, 38.2 percent from three-point range and 70.5 percent from the free throw line, while Johnson, during his two seasons at Lakeland, averaged 16.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists on 45.3 percent shooting from the field and a 37.9 clip from three-point range.
"We're excited about Chaze and Tyreke. Chaze does everything. He and EJ (Hubbert) are both elite defenders. We're excited about that – it gives us a different look. Tyreke was such an important piece toward growing what we had established at Lakeland, and he'll be a great piece here as well."
Germain, who was Hunter's best player at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, earned Honorable Mention All-River States Conference accolades as a junior after averaging 13.9 points, seven rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game. The Fort Lauderdale, Fla. native joins Hubbert as the Florida representative on the roster and, along with Dawson, is part of a two-man senior class.
"Super athlete – probably one of the best athletes in the entire NAIA," Hunter said of Germain. "His game, however, has come along too, and now, he's able to finish with both hands. He's an elite defender with great shot-blocking ability, as well."
Like Germain and Ramirez, Toledo, Ohio's J.R. Lumsden, who also stands 6-5, is a proven talent at the River States Conference level. Lumsden posted averages hovering around 7.5 points, four rebounds, and 1.3 assists per contest while joining Ramirez as one of the three individuals on the Saint Mary-of-the-Woods roster who played in all 27 contests in 2022-23 for the Pomeroys.
"J.R. is a do-it-all guy," Hunter said. "He's a Swiss Army knife. We can ask him to do anything. Whatever it takes to win that night, that's what J.R. is going to do. He's a jack-of-all-trades and he's going to be heavily counted on this year."
Further positional flexibility is offered in the form of 6-6 Kansas City native Donn'Yae Ferguson and 6-5 Indianapolis product AJ Belton, whom Hunter described as "forward-type guys that can rebound and finish in the post and score around the basket."
Ferguson played for Hocking College in Nelsonville, making 52.6 percent of his field goal attempts en route to notching 3.6 points and 3.7 rebounds per contest – while Belton averaged 6.4 points per game, 5.8 rebounds and a steal per contest and converted 56.4 percent of his field goal attempts during the 2022-23 campaign for Glen Oaks Community College in the Michigan Community College Athletic Association ranks.
"They've played a lot of basketball at some tough junior colleges," Hunter said. "We're excited about those guys."
Lastly, the roster rounds out with two posts that have unique upsides.
Local product Damon Charles, a 6-5 body out of Russell, Ky. and Russell High School, has followed up a tremendous senior season – one where he averaged 16.5 points and 10.7 rebounds on 51 percent shooting from the floor for the 26-7 Red Devils – into a strong offseason. Hunter said that the freshman has "probably put on 10 to 15 pounds since I've met him."
"Damon is very soft-spoken, but his play speaks for itself," Hunter said. With us having a full-time strength coach (Seth Wills) now, he's just turning his body around very quickly. He's become a bull in a china shop, so to speak. We're sharpening his horns here and are going to let him loose here soon. He's given us a lot in practice. He's going to be in the mix at the forward spot."
Rounding out the roster, at 6-7 and north of 250 pounds, is Tony Webb Jr. – a native of Chicago.
Webb's initial path to college didn't even involve basketball, as Webb played on the offensive line last season at NCAA Division I Northern Illinois. However, Webb desired a change – and his experience in the game of basketball at Tinley Park High School, along with Hunter's connections in the area, led to Webb getting an opportunity to pursue the sport at Shawnee State.
"Tony's light on his feet but is a very good athlete and a very good shot blocker," Hunter said. "He was playing football at Northern Illinois last year and played on the offensive line and decided that he didn't like it and wanted to play basketball. Through some connections in Northern Chicago – and nobody recruiting him because he was playing football – I felt we should take a look at him. He's been very good for us."
Outlook
With a roster that is 16 players strong – and half of them at least 6-5 or taller – Hunter is pleased with not only the overall depth that the Bears have to offer but also the positional versatility of the team. It will be needed in a River States Conference that plays smaller lineups in terms of size.
"That's what we're all about," Hunter said. "Our length and quickness will allow us to get out in transition quickly from defense to offense. It's smaller than what I typically play, but this year, the league is smaller as a whole, to where you have to play a bigger wing at the four instead of our traditional four and five of years past where we had Selby (Hind-Wills) and EJ (Onu) or Justin (Johnson) and EJ (Onu). That's just not how this league is set up."
In terms of competition, however, Hunter believes the River States Conference hardware is anybody's for the taking.
"We're just hoping to go out there, compete, and hopefully, get a championship if all of our chips land the right way," Hunter said.