Two-time Summit League Coach of the Year, Ron Hunter, returns to the IUPUI bench for his 17th season in 2009-10. The Jaguars’ longtime mentor stands as the program’s all-time leader in wins (245*) and winning percentage (.544). Hunter, widely known for his fiercely competitive nature, has helped IUPUI climb from the NCAA Division II ranks when he took over the program, to a household name in the Midwest among NCAA Division I schools.
Hunter is under contract through the 2015-16 and is one of the longest tenured head coaches, both in The Summit League and in the nation. He was one of seven head coaches that served on the Division I Basketball Academic Enhancement Group, as appointed by late NCAA President Myles Brand and is also a member of the National Basketball Coaches Association (NABC) Board of Directors.
Hunter’s offseasons have been even busier than usual the past two years since partnering with Samaritan’s Feet. Three years ago he personally delivered shoes to those in need in Peru, while other shoes helped those less fortunate in Nigeria and here in the U.S.. Two years ago, he took his team on a goodwill trip to Costa Rica, participating in a series of games and distributions of Crocs to those in need.
Since partnering with Samaritan’s Feet, Hunter has earned numerous national honors including an NABC Guardians of the Game Pillar Award for Service, the 2009 Giant Steps Award from the National Consortium for Academics and Sport (NCAS) and a Minority Achievement Award from the Center for Leadership Development (CLD). Locally, he’s also been recognized by the Indiana Pacers, Indianapolis Public Schools (IPS), Indiana Commission on Social Status and the IU Foundation.
He was also named the 2010 Indiana Pathfinder Award with the other honorees included Peyton Manning receiving the National Pathfinder Award and Niki Glover receiving the Rev. Charles Williams Award. Past recipients of the award included Dr. Myles Brand (2009), Oscar Robertson (2008), Tony Dungy (2006), Dean Smith (2002), Bill Russell (1998), Byron Nelson (1996), John Wooden (1993), Arnold Palmer (1992), Senator Richard Lugar (1991) and Larry Bird (1988).
Hunter was on the sidelines in 2003 when the Jaguars defeated Valparaiso to earn its only-ever NCAA Tournament berth and also helped the program gain national acclaim when former Summit League Player of the Year George Hill declared for early entry into the NBA Draft in the summer of 2008. The 6-foot-2 guard was chosen in the first round by the San Antonio Spurs and became the first-ever early entrant in The Summit’s history to hear his name called on draft night.
A WINNING STANDARD
Hunter is IUPUI’s all-time leader in wins (245) and winning percentage (.544), which includes the 2007-08 Jaguars setting a new single-season record with 26 wins and a .788 winning percentage behind Hill. The team also set a school record with 15 conference victories an unblemished 15-0 home record inside The Jungle.
IUPUI was also the only school in the country to rank among the top three in field goal shooting, free throw shooting and three-point shooting. The Jaguars closed the season as the nation’s statistical leader in three-point percentage, closing at 42.3 percent.
The 2009-10 nearly followed the lead of the 2007-08 squad, winning 25 games and collecting the program’s first-ever postseason win at the Division I level by winning at Hofstra in the opening round of the College Basketball Invitational. Less than a week later, IUPUI hosted its first-ever Division I postseason game before dropping a double overtime thriller to Princeton in The Jungle. Last season, IUPUI ranked second to only Syracuse in field goal percentage.
Additionally, Indianapolis-natives Robert Glenn and Alex Young both earned First Team All-Summit League and Mid-Major All-America honors at the end of the season.
Despite the loss of Hill to injury early in the 2006-07 season, Hunter did some of his best coaching as his Jaguars overachieved and posted a 15-15 record against stiff competition. His guard oriented attack finished fourth in the Mid-Con and garnered the Mid-Con Newcomer of the Year (Austin Montgomery) and a second All-Newcomer honoree (Gary Patterson).
In 2005-06, Hunter’s team had a banner campaign, earning him Mid-Con Coach of the Year honors. In fact, he was named the Mid-Con Coach of the Year by numerous national publications as well, including CollegeInsider.com.
His Jags also enjoyed a six-week stay among CollegeInsider’com’s Mid-Major Top 25 poll. Individually, two of Hunter’s players earned First Team All Mid-Con Honors, while senior Maushae Byles was picked Sixth Man of the Year.
Much of the program’s success has steamrolled from a memorable 2003 campaign.
After IUPUI captured a thrilling 66-64 win over Valparaiso in the 2003 Mid-Continent Conference title game, the reigning Mid-Con Coach of the Year’s emotions carried him into a celebration that epitomized the magnitude of March Madness and college
In 2004, Hunter took IUPUI to its third consecutive Mid-Con Championship game, led by Mid-Con Player of the Year Odell Bradley. During the regular season, he saw his squad pick up its first-ever win over a Mid-American Conference (MAC) foe and crack the CollegeInsider.com’s Mid-Major Top 25 for the first-time ever.
Along with Bradley, his squad boasted the league’s top defensive player in Matt Crenshaw and one of the nation’s best three-point shooters in junior Akeem Clark. His squad also showed some grit as a tough team on the road as evidenced by wins at Valparaiso, Oakland and Oral Roberts. In the non-conference season, the Jaguars were equally as tough, beating Pepperdine on a neutral floor and taking West Virginia and No. 24 Dayton to the wire before losing a pair of heartbreakers.
“Coach Hunter is the face of IUPUI basketball,” IUPUI Director of Athletics Michael Moore said. “His hard work in the community and on the court have made him one of the most recognizable individuals in Indianapolis. The result has been a major asset to both the University in general and Jaguars’ Athletics in particular.”
Off the court, Hunter was recognized by the Black Coaches Association with a 2003 ‘Images in Excellence’ Award.
Since going Division I, Hunter’s teams have racked up an impressive list over major conference competition. In 2002, his team knocked off Northwestern on the road for its first-ever win against a Big Ten opponent. The year before that, his team put together a benchmark 96-92 win at Georgia Tech in the team’s first-ever attempt to defeat an Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) opponent. two years ago, IUPUI won at Seton Hall for the first-ever victory over a BIG EAST foe.
In 2001-02, Hunter’s program started showing signs of becoming a force in the Mid-Con.
Along with the win at Georgia Tech, the Jaguars also hosted their first-ever ranked opponent when No. 20 Ball State came to the IUPUI Gymnasium on Dec. 15, 2001. The Jaguars closed that season with the most wins in the school’s brief NCAA Division I history at that time with 15. They also posted the first .500 record since the Division I transition in 1997-98. The year before, Hunter also led the Jaguars to a stunning win over Indiana State, showing that his squad could compete at the mid-major level among other in-state schools. Later that season, his tactful game plan helped IUPUI past Valpo on their home floor, snapping one of the nation’s longest home court winning streaks. It also marked the Jaguars first-ever win over the perennial Mid-Con powerhouse. In the postseason, the Jags avenged an earlier loss by defeating UMKC in the first round of the Mid-Con Tournament, before falling to the eventual champions in the semi-finals.
A SYSTEM THAT WORKS
While at IUPUI, Hunter has made strong defense, excellent guard play and local recruiting three of his fortes. His teams are known for playing tenaciously both in the half-court and full-court pressing systems. His team’s ability to force and convert turnovers led to success against higher tier opponents.
With Hill topping the list of standout IUPUI guards under Hunter, he’s far from alone in that regard.
His 2007-08 team had the best guard trio in the program’s history as Hill, Gary Patterson and Austin Montgomery combined to score over 48 points per game. As a team, IUPUI shot better than 50 percent from the field for the season and 77.6 percent at the foul line. Additionally, that trio hit 214 threes at a nearly 44 percent clip.
In 2002-03, the Jaguars placed four players in the league’s top ten in steals. In 2003-04, two more Jags ranked among the Mid-Con’s top ten in steals while another placed third in the league in blocked shots. His teams are typically among the nation’s elite in fewest turnovers per game and free throw shooting as well.
In 2009-10, Hunter helped John Ashworth lead The Summit in assist-to-turnover ratio and Alex Young improved his guard skills and earned All-League honors. Additionally, Robert Glenn became an interior force and led The Summit in scoring en route to All-League honors.
Hunter’s credentials for guards date back to the NCAA Division II days when Carlos Knox was picked as the nation’s Player of the Year in 1998. Also that season, Hunter coached the nation’s top three-point shooter in freshman Rodney Thomas.
Knox led the D2 ranks in scoring in 1994-95 at 28.4 points per game and finished his career as the school’s all-time leading scorer. Thomas, who once hit 13 treys in a single-game on the Division II level, thrived in Hunter’s half court offense and was able to get open looks from beyond the arc throughout his career.
Among Hunter’s crop of guards at the Division I level, Matt Crenshaw closed his career as the school’s all-time leader in assists and ranked fourth all-time in steals. For two years, Akeem Clark ranked among the nation’s elite in three-point shooting, hitting 186 in two seasons.
INDIANAPOLIS TIES
On the recruiting front, Hunter has made it his goal to build his roster around in-state talent. Hunter has landed a bevy of Indiana All-Stars in David Barlow (Pike), Hill (Broad Ripple), Patterson (Bishop Noll), Montgomery (Perry Meridian), Larry Stone (Howe) and Young (Northwest), the 2002 Marion County Player of the Year, in Ben Davis’ Brandon Cole and the 2008 Indianapolis Player of the Year in Young. Current Jaguar Stephen Thomas (Cathedral) was a two-time City Player of the Year and Robert Glenn (Ben Davis) was a JUCO All-American in Illinois before returning to the Circle City.
While at the Division II level, he inked such local standouts as Derek Williams (Cardinal Ritter), Don Carlisle (Ben Davis) and Charles Price (Broad Ripple).
In 2006, he inked Marion’s Billy Pettiford, while his 2007 guard class included John Ashworth (Franklin Central) and Adrian Moss (Franklin) to accompany a pair of out-of-state commitments.
Hunter has also enjoyed success in recruiting junior college transfers by inking a pair of former All-Americans and numerous All-Region players. His most recent JUCO jewels were the signings of Robert Glenn (Wabash Valley) and Anthony Williams (Iowa Western). Hunter’s 2001-02 team was built around five JUCO standouts, many of whom were local kids returning to their home state for a chance to play Division I basketball.
Finally on the recruiting front, Hunter has also had a number of Division I transfers return to their home state to play for the IUPUI program. The 2003 NCAA Tournament team was led by Josh Murray (Ball State) and Marcus May (Wright State) who had both left other Division I programs to come home and complete their careers. More recently, the Jaguars were aided by three Division I transfers as Montgomery (Bowling Green) and Patterson (Butler) patrolled the backcourt and Angelo Smith (Xavier) was a rock on the interior.
The current Jags are bolstered by Thomas (Dayton) in the backcourt.
BUILDING THE DREAM
Hunter was instrumental in the program’s rise from the NAIA/NCAA Division II ranks to the Division I level.
When Hunter first arrived, the program played a mediocre Division II schedule and was a virtual unknown, even in Indianapolis.
In 1994-95, he became IUPUI’s winningest first-year coach when he guided the Metros to a 16-13 overall record. In his second year, he led the team to a 22-7 record and, at the time, the highest single-season winning percentage in school history. Over the course of Hunter’s 15-year career, more than 20 different players have gone on to play professionally, both in the states and overseas. Hill headlines the group, having become just the second player in the Mid-Con/Summit League’s history to be chosen in the first round of the NBA Draft.
Before him, Akeem Clark has played in Mexico and former Mid-Con Player of the Year Odell Bradley has had numerous international stops including in China and Venezuela. Bradley started in Milwaukee Bucks’ summer camp and was drafted into both the ABA and USBL.
Don Carlisle, who starred for IUPUI’s first Division I team in 1998-99, has enjoyed a lengthy professional career, mostly in Vanves, France. He was originally drafted by the North Charleston Lowgators of the NBA Developmental League (NBDL) before signing on with Sallen Basket Upsala in Sweden.
Knox was invited to the Indiana Pacers preseason camp before taking his talents overseas in Switzerland, Italy and Germany.
Anthony Winburn was Hunter’s first IUPUI player to catch on overseas when he signed with Kovout, Finland in 1997.
MORE THAN HOOPS
While at IUPUI, Hunter has also made an emphasis for he and his players to be actively involved in the community. In 2008, he began a partnership with Samaritan’s Feet in which he intended to raise over 40,000 pairs of shoes in honor of the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.’s passing. He coached the Jan. 24 game against Oakland University in his bare feet to help raise the awareness. By tipoff, Hunter’s efforts had raised over 100,000 pairs of shoes, and to date, that total has climbed well above 250,000. In 2008, Hunter, three student-athletes and other members of the basketball program personally delivered the shoes to those in need in Peru.
In Indianapolis, Hunter arranges for his student-athletes to visit local hospitals and elementary schools to serve as role models and mentors to inner-city youths. Hunter also does a variety of speaking engagements, both as a motivator and educator. He also organizes annual summer basketball camps to afford inner-city youths the opportunity to compete on the hardwood.
“Ron Hunter has made a significant impact on both the Indianapolis community and IUPUI intercollegiate athletics as a whole,” said Floyd Keith, Executive Director of the Black Coaches Association, which is based in Indianapolis. “His willingness to actively participate and assist in Indianapolis civic projects and events is a matter of record. Ron is most certainly a valued asset to IUPUI, Indianapolis and the state of Indiana.”
Hunter also put together a coaches clinic in 2004 to allow high school and youth coaches from Indiana, Ohio, Illinois and Michigan develop better coaching tactics. The clinic blended basketball drill work, sports psychology and basketball tactics for participating coaches to incorporate into their respective programs.
Hunter and his staff frequently open up practices and host Q&A sessions for local and aspiring coaches as part of a free coaching clinic.
THE FACE OF THE PROGRAM
Hunter’s team’s success has also raised the national exposure of both the university and the basketball program. His affable personality and light-hearted demeanor off the floor have made him a favorite among local and national media. During IUPUI’s postseason appearance in 2003, Hunter made an effort to accommodate every media request and made national appearances on ESPN’s SportsCenter and Fox Sports The Best Damn Sports Show.
“Ron Hunter is the type of coach who helps his program by working with the media,” Indianapolis Star college beat writer Jeff Rabjohns said. “He is enthusiastic, colorful, accessible and always talkative - attributes which contribute to giving his program the best chance at getting the most exposure.
“His personality has been a big factor in helping a mid-major program receive attention in a market with the NFL, NBA and considerable interest in storied Big Ten programs.”
Hunter’s coaching career began in 1987 when he served as an assistant at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. During his six seasons at Milwaukee, the school moved from NAIA to NCAA Division II status, and eventually to Division I. During Hunter’s coaching stint, Wisconsin-Milwaukee amassed an overall record of 111-59, including a 23-4 mark in 1992-93.
Prior to his arrival at IUPUI, Hunter spent one year as the top assistant coach at his alma mater, Miami (Ohio). During that season, the Redskins were 19-10, finishing second in the Mid-American Conference (MAC) and making an appearance in the postseason National Invitational Tournament (NIT).
Hunter earned his bachelor’s degree in education at Miami in 1986 and a master’s in 1987. He was a standout player on the strong Miami teams of the mid-1980’s, along with high school and college teammate Ron Harper. The Redskins were 81-30 during Hunter’s four-year career and earned three consecutive NCAA Tournament berths and two MAC championships. Hunter averaged better than seven points and nearly three rebounds a game as a junior, while averaging 9.5 points and nearly three rebounds a game as a senior.
Hunter and his wife, Amy, have two children - Jasmine (22) and R.J. (17). Jasmine is currently studying at Miami (Ohio) while R.J. is a highly touted prep wingman at Indianapolis Pike High School. The Hunters reside on the northwest side of Indianapolis.
