Hunter Meyer, Dean’s third leading scorer was once shy and too scared to shoot. (Photo Courtesy: Hunter Meyer).
Growing up, a lot of young kids are scared to shoot the basketball in a game and tend to be shy. That is exactly what happened to Hunter Meyer growing up. Meyer has been playing basketball ever since he was five years old. From a young age through his entire high school playing career, he started every game as a point guard. However, he was shy and timid. “I was a point guard, so I only passed the ball because I was scared to do what I do now, which is score. In high school, I was still that player, but my parents and coaches forced me to get out of that mind state which allowed me to get a little more aggressive, but I was still a pass first player.”
After graduating high school, Meyer wanted to play at the Division I level but quickly realized that it was not possible. Instead, he opted to attend Moravian Prep School in Hudson, North Carolina. When he first arrived, he was told one thing and was given the other. It was not until he spoke to the coach Jeremy Ellis, or “Coach Ellis” as they called him, which he believes helped improve his game. “When I first got there the coach saw me as a potential player, but he didn’t see me doing much. I talked to him to ask what I could do, and I did exactly what he said which was to be more aggressive. I definitely believe that is what woke my game up.” Meyer wound up playing and played the same role as he had before as a shooting guard.
After being there for a little more than a year, Meyer then moved onto Cape Fear Community College in Wilmington, North Carolina. He found this school after Coach Ellis was able to get others to look at him which led to one of the Cape Fear coaches reaching out because he liked what he saw from Meyer. “Considering that both schools are in North Carolina definitely helped me out. I also liked the location since Cape Fear is right by the beach.”
When Meyer arrived at Cape Fear, he did not play right away because during his freshman year the team had a lot of Division I transfers and wound up going to the national tournament. In his sophomore season, even though the coaches told hm that he would get minutes on the court, he never did because they saw better players than him. Meyer has no hard feelings toward them and completely understood.
“My biggest advice for a young basketball player that is shy or is afraid to shoot is don’t try to force anything because that would definitely hurt in the long run. Feel out who you are and what you really want to be because basketball is not your whole life. But if you want it to be and you are shy, you have to be more aggressive, and it starts with your mindset and how you practice.”
After leaving Cape Fear Community College, Meyer wound up at Dean College after the two coaches from Cape Fear and Dean reached out to each other. While Massachusetts is the farthest Meyer has been from home in Kentucky, he does not mind it because he likes to travel and explore new places. “In my life I have been a lot of places which made me grow up and realize what I need to do to make myself better as basketball player and as a person. After high school, I went to a prep school called Moravian Prep for a year in middle of nowhere in North Carolina with 24 guys. I was without my parents doing things I never thought I would be doing. After that, I went to a JUCO in North Carolina 10 hours from home and now here at Dean in Massachusetts.”
On the cultural side, in the middle of the country compared to the northeast, Meyer does not notice any major differences except for the fact that some people speak differently in New England than they do in Kentucky. Meyer also explained how the temperature in New England is colder than back in Kentucky because while they usually get as cold as 20 degrees and as hot as 70-80 degrees, he has noticed that it can get really cold in the northeast as it has gotten into the teens or sometimes single digits. However, none of these are major issues for Meyer as he can quickly adapt to his surroundings.
This is Meyer’s first season with the Bulldogs as last season was called off due to the Covid-19 Pandemic. “I was still home when I found out, but I was obviously disappointed. However, my mindset quickly went to looking ahead to next season because I couldn’t do anything about it since it was out of my control.”
During this season, Meyer has seen some action in both the starting lineup and coming off the bench. To Meyer though, it does not make a difference where or when he comes into the game. “Coach thinks the best starters for one game, and another for another game based on the matchups. No matter what, I will do what I have to do to help my team win.”
Meyer is the third leading scorer on the Bulldogs, and he credits that to the work he puts in at the gym. “I take care of my body by working out regularly. When I am home, I will go the gym where I usually do a full body workout for 30-45 minutes. After that, I go to the basketball court to work on finishing drills as well as my shooting for another 30-45 minutes.” Meyer admits that he would still like to work on improving his jump shot.
To finish out this season, as a team, Meyer would like to get into the conference tournament. Dean already beat Elms College by a score of 98-85 on February 10th and will have to do it again on February 17th, this time on the road, to clinch the 12 seed in the tournament. On a personal level, Meyer is playing with a team first mindset as he would like to finish the season out by having fun with his teammates.
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