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Indiana associate head coach Kenya Hunter is expected to be retained by Mike Woodson, Inside the Hall has learned.
Hunter, who joined the Indiana program last fall under Archie Miller, is known as an excellent recruiter who is also strong in the area of player development.
The decision to retain Hunter is a good first step for Woodson as he strengthens his assistant coaching team at Bloomington.
Kenya Hunter is the newest member of the IU staff and is in his first season as an associate co-head coach with the Hoosiers. Hunter returns to the Big Ten, where he coached for five seasons in Nebraska, and reunites with Archie Miller, who was an NC State player and staff member when Hunter was on the Wolfpack staff early in his career. Hunter, who played for and graduated from Duquesne, also coached Miller on the AAU ball in Pennsylvania.
The Arlington, Va. Native comes to IU after spending the past two seasons as an assistant coach at UConn.
Hunter, an 18-year veteran of Division I coaching, worked primarily with the Huskies’ big men and had a significant impact, helping second center Josh Carlton win the Most Improved Player of the Year award. American Athletic Conference for 2018-19 and developing rookie Akok Akok into one of the nation’s top shot blockers last season. He also helped UConn land two consecutive Top 20 recruiting classes.
Hunter came to UConn after spending five years on the coaching staff at the University of Nebraska, who had extensive coaching experiences in Georgetown, Xavier, and Duquesne, as well as administrative basketball experience. in North Carolina State. He has coached 11 teams that have reached the NCAA tournament.
Hunter trained big men and wings during his tenure helping the Huskers to 22 wins in 2017-18, earning an NIT spot. During his tenure, he also helped Nebraska reach the NCAA tournament and he was instrumental in developing the All-Big Ten selections Terran Petteway and Shavon Shields. Petteway was twice in the All-Big Ten who led the conference in scoring in 2013-14, while Shields ended his career as one of five players in school history with 1,500 points and 600 rebounds.
He spent six years (2007-13) on the coaching staff at Georgetown, where he helped the Hoyas win two Big East Conference titles, five 20-game seasons and five NCAA tournament spots. He was also instrumental in the development of future NBA stars Roy Hibbert, Greg Monroe and Otto Porter, the Big East’s player of the year in 2012-13 and the No. 3 pick in the NBA Draft. His recruiting efforts helped the Hoyas land three top 25 classes in the country.
Prior to his time at Georgetown, Hunter spent three years at Xavier, where he helped the team produce straight 20-game winning seasons and earn a spot in the 2007 NCAA tournament.
Hunter began his Division I coaching career with Duquesne, his alma mater, where he served as a full-time assistant for two seasons (1998-2000), helping the Dukes move into the top recruiting class in the Atlantic 10 in 1999. He then accepted the position. Director of basketball operations at North Carolina State, where he remained until 2004, when he left coaching at Xavier.
Hunter, who played both football and basketball at Wakefield High School in Arlington, was a playmaker for four years at Duquesne, serving as captain for three seasons and receiving the award twice as as top-class member of the team. He graduated with a liberal arts degree in 1996, then received his master’s degree in education from the state of North Carolina in 1998, while serving as a student director for the Wolf Pack.
Hunter and his wife Johncie are parents to a son, Jaylin, and a daughter, Kendall.
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