UTEP sophomore power forward Vince Hunter has told Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com that he’s entering this year’s draft (Twitter link). It’ll be a long shot effort for Hunter to hear his name called at the June 25th draft, since he’s just 108th in fellow ESPN scribe Chad Ford‘s rankings. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress doesn’t list him within his top 100 prospects, instead pegging the 6’8″ Hunter as 30th-best among NCAA sophomores.
Hunter averaged 14.9 points and a Conference USA-leading 9.2 rebounds in 28.5 minutes per game this season. He’s versatile, having guarded shooting guards and small forwards in addition to power forwards for UTEP, according to Givony, and indeed, Ford has him listed as a small forward. Still, he doesn’t offer much spacing on the other end, especially at small forward, having attempted just 10 three-pointers all season.
The 20-year-old didn’t see as many minutes as might be expected for a pro prospect on a non-power team, but he was efficient in his time on the floor, leading his conference with a 25.8 PER. He and his UTEP teammates, playing for former Bulls and Pelicans coach Tim Floyd, won 22 games and lost in the first round of the NIT this year.