Player Profile: Hunter Ecklund (2020/Lacenter HS/Iron Athletics)
Southwest Washington is often under recruited and evaluated when it comes teams & prospects due to their distance from the bigger population bases of Seattle and Spokane. However recent years have seen Clark and Cowlitz Counties put out a solid crop of players who have gone on to have success at all levels of college basketball. 2020 point guard Hunter Ecklund of Lacenter High School appears poised to add his name to that group after a frosh season that saw him lead his team to a 4th place finish in the 1A state tournament. We caught up with the 6’0 floor general to preview the 2017-18 season, wrap up a successful AAU season, and take an early peek at what he might be looking for in a future college.
“Our spring and summer AAU season was a great experience. I missed a few weeks early on with a broken collarbone but our Iron Athletics Elite was very successful. We made it to the final game of 8 tourneys and beat a couple of Nike EYBL teams. I started at the point and averaged around 20 points a game. Our team was really unselfish and did a great job of sharing the ball which makes it fun.”
When asked what the status of his recruiting was and what he was looking for in a potential college, Ecklund shared, “It’s really early in the recruiting process for me, I’ve only recently started attending elite camps and getting on the radar of colleges. When it comes to what’s important in a college, I’m looking for a program that has a strong defensive philosophy, a strong basketball culture, and a coaching staff that will push me to be the best that I can be. I’m still deciding what I want to study, so I’m sure that will narrow the list a little bit.”
As he looked forward to the 2017-18 season, his optimism was obvious. “We finished last year really strong, placing 4th at the state tournament. Personally, I feel like I had a good freshman season, I started at the point and averaged 14 points a game while leading the team in assists and steals. This off season, we’ve put in a lot of work and have a lot of good pieces back. If we focus on defense and sharing the ball, I think we can make it back to the Sun Dome (site of the 1A state tourney).”
When asked to asses his strengths and weaknesses as a player, Ecklund was very honest in his evaluation, “I think my biggest asset is my quickness and ball handling, which makes it hard for teams to pressure me. I try to use my speed as much as I can to my advantage. My court vision is another plus, when I beat my guy I’m able to see what the next layer of defense is doing. As far as areas I’m working to improve on, I’m spending time working on shooting off the dribble and also working to become better at drawing contact and getting to the line. I’ve got to get better at changing speeds when I play against guys who are quicker than me.”
Prep Hoops Evaluation:
Hunter Ecklund is a talented point guard in the class of 2020 who plays at Lacenter High School. He showed great poise and maturity in leading his team to a 4th place finish in the state as freshman. Ecklund possess good quickness and ball handling skills for his age. He also shoots the ball at a pretty high clip from 3. He’s a willing passer who does a nice job of running the half court offense and playing in the open court. As he grows, he must improve at changing tempos and using his body to protect the ball against bigger and quicker players. Also continuing to develop his athleticism will help him finish at the rim, especially through contact.