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Virginia Basketball: 2019 NBA Draft profile of Cavaliers forward De’Andre Hunter

By Jason Burgess

COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - MARCH 22: De'Andre Hunter #12 of the Virginia Cavaliers celebrates after a play in the second half against the Gardner Webb Runnin Bulldogs during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA - MARCH 22: De'Andre Hunter #12 of the Virginia Cavaliers celebrates after a play in the second half against the Gardner Webb Runnin Bulldogs during the first round of the 2019 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Colonial Life Arena on March 22, 2019 in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /
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MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – APRIL 08: De’Andre Hunter #12 of the Virginia Cavaliers celebrates after his teams 85-77 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the 2019 NCAA men’s Final Four National Championship game at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 08, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA – APRIL 08: De’Andre Hunter #12 of the Virginia Cavaliers celebrates after his teams 85-77 win over the Texas Tech Red Raiders in the 2019 NCAA men’s Final Four National Championship game at U.S. Bank Stadium on April 08, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images) /

Fresh off a national title for Virginia Basketball, De’Andre Hunter has left Virginia for the NBA Draft. What can the young big man bring to his next team?

After Virginia Basketball cut down the nets this past season, there was talk that perhaps their historic loss to UMBC the year before was a blessing in disguise and galvanize the team for the 2018-19 season. It turns out, that was the case for the Cavaliers who were missing an important part of their team in that loss, one that returned this season and made a huge difference, swingman De’Andre Hunter.

Hunter missed the 1st round tournament loss with an injury and, that may ultimately have been a blessing in disguise for him as well. If he had played in that game and Virginia had won and made a significant run in the tournament, Hunter could have found himself declaring for the NBA Draft after the 2018 season instead. Now, the 6-7 sophomore guard/forward finds himself on the cusp of an NBA career coming off a national championship and is likely to go higher in this draft than he would have had he come out after his freshman season.

In 2018-19, Hunter was fully healthy, playing and starting in all 38 games for the champs. While he didn’t lead the team in any statistical category, Hunter was a contributor all over the stat sheet. He was second on the team in scoring with 15.2 points and in rebounding with his 5.1 per game. Hunter couldn’t be entering the league with a better lasting impression, here is a look at what the young Cavalier brings to the table for the team that will call his name on draft night.

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