UT's Tyrese Hunter turns up the heat in time for tournaments
AUSTIN, Texas - Rodney Terry's UT men open the Big 12 tournament on March 13, and the X-factor for the tournament, and the NCAA, might be a resurgent Tyrese Hunter.
As the Big 12 and NCAA tournaments inch closer, Hunter, who is one of UT's top defenders and the team's third-leading scorer with an average of 11 points a game, is turning it up a notch.
"It's March, you know. You have to come up with wins around March, you know, survive and advance," said junior guard Tyrese Hunter.
"When he plays great defense, he plays great on offense. He gets out in transition. He hits his 3 pointers. He does everything well offensively whenever he's locked in defensively," said forward and grad student Dylan Disu.
"It's always great to have that third guy emerge and get some things done. And Tyrese played great this time of year last year. And as we went into postseason play, he was a difference maker for us," said Terry.
Hunter's definitely been a difference maker here at the Moody Center at times throughout the season. Including a buzzer beating shot to upset then 9th-ranked Baylor back in January.
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Recently, in the Horns' final Big 12 regular season game at the Moody Center, he went off against rival OU, setting a new career-high with 30 points.
"Today was a big one for the guys, for us, the program. You know the last one in the Moody for the year. So, I was just pumped up all the way around. For me, it just gives me confidence. You know, like I said, my confidence never goes away," said Hunter.
"Just seeing the confidence Tyrese had. When he has that, it's a different dynamic to that team because they have got so many guys playing a role. And you get that guard, that other guard scoring like that to go along with Max and Disu, they're elite," said Peter Moser, head coach of the Oklahoma men's basketball team.
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"He's very confident, and he played at a very high level, and when he's playing that way, he does give us some separation in terms of how good we can be," said Terry.
"It starts on defense. I think that's where I get my energy from, my confidence from. I just keep my mentality on defense," said Hunter.
"Every time he's had that kind of mindset, he's had great scoring nights here at Texas," said Terry.
The Longhorns tip off against Kansas State on Wednesday, March 13, at 6 p.m.