FRED DOWN UNDER

For years, the Nicholls State University men’s basketball team has recruited, and signed, some of the best players in Australia to athletic scholarships – a list that has featured prominent players like Anatoly Bose, Ryan Bathie and Sam McBeath.

But for former Nicholls All-Conference standout Fred Hunter, that pipeline is now reversed. He’s a Nicholls guy taking his talents Down Under.

Hunter recently signed a contract to continue his professional basketball career with the Northwest Tasmania Thunder – a team that competes in the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL).

Hunter will begin his season with the Thunder in the next few weeks. While waiting, he’s been assigned to play for an Australian state league team called the Smithton Saints. In his most recent game, Hunter was absolutely dominant, scoring 39 points (13-of-26 shooting) with 18 rebounds and four assists.

He said the entire situation is a thrill. He said Australia already feels like home.

“I love Australia,” Hunter said. “It’s my favorite country. It’s not so much different (than America). In my eyes, I look at it as a better America. I’m having fun here. The people are very nice here, and they love basketball. They welcomed me here with open arms.”

For Hunter, this Australian adventure was a long time in the making – it actually started when the 6-foot, 5-inch forward was wearing Nicholls’ red and white.

Hunter said that Nicholls toured Australia in the summer of 2012 – the offseason heading into his senior season. While there, Hunter said he made a few connections and friends within the country.

Those connections probably watched in amazement as Hunter returned home from the summer trip in 2012 and dominated during his senior season. Hunter averaged 19.9 points and 8.1 rebounds per game in his final year with the Colonels in the 2012-13 season. Because of that dominance, Hunter had his pick of pro opportunities out of college. He opted to ink a contract with Kiryat Tivon – a pro team in Israel.

While in the Middle East, Hunter thrived in the paint, averaging 15.6 points and 8.5 rebounds per game

in the 2013-14 season. He said in an interview at the time that the biggest lesson he’d learn playing pro basketball is that there is no time to take nights off.

“You’re playing against somebody good every night,” Hunter said. “The game is faster, because there is a 24-second shot clock, instead of 35 like we have in college.”

After succeeding in Israel, Hunter returned to the states in May 2014 where he patiently awaited his next chance to play ball. It took several months of patient (and sometimes impatient) waiting, but the phone finally rang for another job a few weeks ago. That’s when Australia came calling, and he signed his deal with the Thunder – an opportunity that was sprouted through someone that was familiar with Hunter through his time with the Colonels.

“I found out about this through a friend that I met when we toured Australia in the summer of 2012,” Hunter said. “The competition should be very good since it’s the second league in Australia under the NBL…. I don’t know anyone on this team, but I know a couple people playing in the league.”

So while waiting for the Thunder’s season to get rolling, Hunter has toured the land Down Under, enjoying a lot of the country’s best with his fiancee Christina Dearmas.

Hunter said one interesting thing about Australia is that there aren’t as many kangaroos in Australia as one is led to believe. He said that the first one he saw came through unique circumstances.

“It was on the side of the road,” Hunter said with a laugh. “It was dead. Road-kill.”

Roadkill is also a word that could accurately describe the folks who’ve attempted to guard Hunter during his short stint in the country.

When he’s not been sightseeing or getting acclimated to the country, Hunter has been playing for the Saints – a team he will play with periodically throughout his contract with the Thunder.

Hunter scored 21 points and grabbed 12 rebounds with six assists and five steals in his first game with the Saints – a performance that the former Nicholls standout graded as “terrible” and “rusty”.

In his second game, that rust was almost all gone, and Hunter was nearly flawless, hanging nearly 40 points on his foe.

Hunter said he thinks the best is yet to come.

“I’m playing alright right now,” Hunter said. “This is my first real action since leaving Israel in May. I’m getting the basketball feel back. Playing for this Union team (the Saints) is great. It teaches me patience with myself and others, and it’s also good conditioning to prepare myself for the SE-ABL season.”

When that season begins, it will be Hunter’s second as a pro – another chapter in his basketball journey.

He said that the entire process is a blessing – an opportunity that he’s so grateful for. He said that when he was young, he envisioned being an NBA star. But he just may have something that’s better – the chance to play basketball while seeing the world with his fiancee. That, Hunter said, is something that’s hard to beat.

“I never imagined traveling the world playing basketball,” Hunter said. “I’m still in shock about it sometimes – even today – when I am just sitting around and thinking about where I am. I just feel blessed, that’s all.”

‘I love Australia … In my eyes, I look at it as a better America. I’m having fun here. The people are very nice here, and they love basketball. They welcomed me here with open arms.’

Fred Hunter

Former Nicholls standout now in Australia

Former Nicholls State University standout Fred Hunter (right) is getting to live the dream. Joined on the journey by his fiancee Christina Dearmas, Hunter is playing professional basketball in Australia for the Tasmania Thunder – a team that competes in the South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL). Hunter said that he’s enjoying his time Down Under, touting that Australia is a better, more friendly version of America.

COURTESY PHOTO