Recruiting Report: Hunter Erickson (2018)
Two years from now, current Timpview guard, and Utah’s 4th-ranked 2108, Hunter Erickson will be suiting up for the BYU Cougars, but first he’s got some other matters to attend to.
The 6-foot-3 guard signed with BYU last month, and chose the Cougars over offers from Cal State-Santa Barbara and Utah.
And though he never envisioned himself playing with BYU earlier in his life, he says once he evaluated his own situation better, it was the Cougars who were the right fit.
“When you really dig in to the programs, things change, and you really have to think about and analyze what fits you as a person being there, and as a basketball player being there,” said Erickson.
“And BYU was never really a dream school, and I never really had an opinion about going there. Going into it, it just felt like it would fit me better than the other places.”
Though he’s currently a senior with Timpview, it won’t be until the 2020-21 season when he suits up for BYU. Erickson is taking a two year Latter-day Saints mission first.
When he does get his chance with the Cougars, they’ll have a heady floor-general, who has a knack for getting buckets.
“I feel like I have a pretty good basketball IQ, and seeing the floor and things like that; 3-point shooting is what I always was known for, but as I’ve gotten older, I feel like I been able to become an all-around scorer, and attack the basket and score in a variety of ways,” said Erickson.
“One of the main things I’m continuing to work on is ball-handling. I wouldn’t say I’m a bad ball-handler, but I could definitely get quicker, tighter ball-handling. And maybe a quicker first step, things like that,”
After having surgery earlier this fall on his thumb, Erickson returned to action last week for the Thunderbirds. His role this season: to lead.
“For me, personally, I feel like my role is that I need to be a lot better vocal leader, because we lost one of our big voices on the team last season. So, I need to pick up that slack and lead more with my voice, as well as my actions,” said Erickson.
And when his senior season is complete, he’ll head right into his two year LDS mission. He says he definitely plans to keep his strength and athleticism intact.
“As the time gets closer, I’ll have a little more details, but while on my mission I’ll have time to exercise every day in the mornings,” said Erickson. “And I’m planning on doing some work very single day, and not lose it.”