Making A Point
BC Brothers Look Like Team’s Future
Posted: February 19, 2013
BRIDGEWATER – Sitting in a corner of Nininger Hall before practice Monday, 18-year-old Zach Hunter suggested that his older brother and teammate, 20-year-old Matthew Hunter, might have been a bit anxious heading into this basketball season at Bridgewater College.
“He was afraid I was going to get his spot, honestly,” Zach said, a devilish smile on his face.
Matthew just laughed, shaking his head. But mostly, for the Hunters, it’s not about who’s better; it’s about what they can do together — and are already starting to do — for the up-and-coming Eagles.
Heading into an Old Dominion Athletic Conference tournament opening-round game as the No. 7 seed against No. 10 Roanoke at 7 p.m. today at Nininger, the Eagles (14-11 overall, 8-8 in the ODAC).
have been relying on the pair of underclassmen from Newport News to share point guard duties. Matt, a sophomore, usually gets the starting nod – but he and Zach, a freshman, play nearly identical minutes (about 16 per game), generally subbing in for one another.
The physical resemblance is obvious. Both have brown eyes, short hair, frequent smiles and a little fuzz under their chins. Zach’s just an inch shorter at 5-foot-9, and, at 160 pounds, weighs just 3 pounds less. But the two brothers born 17 months apart are hardly identical.
The younger Zach is much more outgoing, occasionally a trash-talker, and even a vocal leader as a freshman. Junior Ronnie Thomas said that, since he was a rookie in 2010-11, Zach is the first BC freshman who’s been so assertive in the locker room.
“Finally, sometimes I’ve got to bite my tongue, because he’s taken such a leadership role,” Thomas said of Zach. “That’s what we’ve been waiting for in a point guard.”
Matt — who describes his brother as someone who does “crazy things” — is more reserved, and more inclined to do things by the book. And, he said, he doesn’t care if his little brother gets the best of him, or if he has a better career at BC.
“It’s not really competitive,” Matt said. “Because if we are playing together, then we play off of each other, and we pick the intensity up when we’re together.”
Their differences have been obvious for a while. What they share is a strong athletic background.
After their parents split up when they were in eighth and ninth grade, they were raised almost exclusively by their father, Phillip, while their mother, Keir Harris, raised their two sisters a few miles away.
Both parents were college athletes — Harris was a track star at Division III Christopher Newport, while Phillip Hunter played college basketball at D-II St. Augustine (N.C.).
Phillip, though, lost his spot on the team before dropping out of school. He didn’t want his sons to follow suit.
“The reason why I instilled in them school is because I had left school,” he said.
He also was invested in their basketball careers. As an employee with the Newport News school system and a part-time worker at a local gym, Phillip always had a key to an indoor basketball court if his sons wanted to hone their skills.
The Hunters starred at Woodside High School, often sharing the same backcourt — Zach at the point, Matt at shooting guard. Already, their on-court differences became apparent.
“Zach would be the one on a fast break who would do the alley-oop, where Matt would probably hit you with a bounce pass,” Woodside coach Andre Wallace said. “There’s no doubt.”
That still holds true now. Zach just has that little risk-taking streak — he averages more turnovers than Matt (1.8 to 1.5 per game), but also more assists (0.9 to 0.7), steals (1.6 to 0.5) and points (5.0 to 4.3). In one game — a 67-66 double-overtime win over Washington & Lee — Zach had nine steals.
“They have two different types of games,” BC coach Don Burgess said. “Zach can get you off the bounce in a quick, dicey manner, whereas Matt can get you off the bounce, but it’s more methodical. …more like an old man’s game.”
Together, they’ve taken the ball-handling load off of Thomas, a natural wing who’s had to fill in at point guard off and on for the last two years.
“It really helped me just get easier shots, because teams were face-guarding me,” Thomas said. “So now, Zach’s stepped up as a freshman, running the plays, calling the plays, taking control of the huddle. …And [Matt’s] been coming along, too.”
But, at this point in their young careers, the Hunters aren’t the star attraction. More established studs like sophomore Ed Reddick (11.7 ppg), sophomore Tavis Stapleton (11.4) and junior Thomas (11) share most of the offensive load. The Hunters are part of the supporting cast, and they know it.
“We haven’t really made our stamp in the conference, because of Ronnie and Tavis — they’re doing their thing, they want to excel,” Zach said.
When they’re upperclassmen, however, they’ll be the hunted ones.
“When the time comes, me and Matt will be there,” Zach said.
Contact Paul Montana at 574-6296 or pmontana@dnronline.com
“He was afraid I was going to get his spot, honestly,” Zach said, a devilish smile on his face.
Matthew just laughed, shaking his head. But mostly, for the Hunters, it’s not about who’s better; it’s about what they can do together — and are already starting to do — for the up-and-coming Eagles.
Heading into an Old Dominion Athletic Conference tournament opening-round game as the No. 7 seed against No. 10 Roanoke at 7 p.m. today at Nininger, the Eagles (14-11 overall, 8-8 in the ODAC).
have been relying on the pair of underclassmen from Newport News to share point guard duties. Matt, a sophomore, usually gets the starting nod – but he and Zach, a freshman, play nearly identical minutes (about 16 per game), generally subbing in for one another.
The physical resemblance is obvious. Both have brown eyes, short hair, frequent smiles and a little fuzz under their chins. Zach’s just an inch shorter at 5-foot-9, and, at 160 pounds, weighs just 3 pounds less. But the two brothers born 17 months apart are hardly identical.
The younger Zach is much more outgoing, occasionally a trash-talker, and even a vocal leader as a freshman. Junior Ronnie Thomas said that, since he was a rookie in 2010-11, Zach is the first BC freshman who’s been so assertive in the locker room.
“Finally, sometimes I’ve got to bite my tongue, because he’s taken such a leadership role,” Thomas said of Zach. “That’s what we’ve been waiting for in a point guard.”
Matt — who describes his brother as someone who does “crazy things” — is more reserved, and more inclined to do things by the book. And, he said, he doesn’t care if his little brother gets the best of him, or if he has a better career at BC.
“It’s not really competitive,” Matt said. “Because if we are playing together, then we play off of each other, and we pick the intensity up when we’re together.”
Their differences have been obvious for a while. What they share is a strong athletic background.
After their parents split up when they were in eighth and ninth grade, they were raised almost exclusively by their father, Phillip, while their mother, Keir Harris, raised their two sisters a few miles away.
Both parents were college athletes — Harris was a track star at Division III Christopher Newport, while Phillip Hunter played college basketball at D-II St. Augustine (N.C.).
Phillip, though, lost his spot on the team before dropping out of school. He didn’t want his sons to follow suit.
“The reason why I instilled in them school is because I had left school,” he said.
He also was invested in their basketball careers. As an employee with the Newport News school system and a part-time worker at a local gym, Phillip always had a key to an indoor basketball court if his sons wanted to hone their skills.
The Hunters starred at Woodside High School, often sharing the same backcourt — Zach at the point, Matt at shooting guard. Already, their on-court differences became apparent.
“Zach would be the one on a fast break who would do the alley-oop, where Matt would probably hit you with a bounce pass,” Woodside coach Andre Wallace said. “There’s no doubt.”
That still holds true now. Zach just has that little risk-taking streak — he averages more turnovers than Matt (1.8 to 1.5 per game), but also more assists (0.9 to 0.7), steals (1.6 to 0.5) and points (5.0 to 4.3). In one game — a 67-66 double-overtime win over Washington & Lee — Zach had nine steals.
“They have two different types of games,” BC coach Don Burgess said. “Zach can get you off the bounce in a quick, dicey manner, whereas Matt can get you off the bounce, but it’s more methodical. …more like an old man’s game.”
Together, they’ve taken the ball-handling load off of Thomas, a natural wing who’s had to fill in at point guard off and on for the last two years.
“It really helped me just get easier shots, because teams were face-guarding me,” Thomas said. “So now, Zach’s stepped up as a freshman, running the plays, calling the plays, taking control of the huddle. …And [Matt’s] been coming along, too.”
But, at this point in their young careers, the Hunters aren’t the star attraction. More established studs like sophomore Ed Reddick (11.7 ppg), sophomore Tavis Stapleton (11.4) and junior Thomas (11) share most of the offensive load. The Hunters are part of the supporting cast, and they know it.
“We haven’t really made our stamp in the conference, because of Ronnie and Tavis — they’re doing their thing, they want to excel,” Zach said.
When they’re upperclassmen, however, they’ll be the hunted ones.
“When the time comes, me and Matt will be there,” Zach said.
Contact Paul Montana at 574-6296 or pmontana@dnronline.com