As I reflected on the last 3 games, I was trying to assess what my take on Luke Hunger has been so far. What resonated was that it seems like he's playing more minutes, when he's in the game he's more assertive on offense, and I don't have a positive/negative sense about him defensively. I then scanned his kenpom page to see how his performances align with what I've sensed:
Your memory in 2024 might suggest that he seemed to play more than 28% of the minutes, but to be more specific, through 18 B1G games, Hunger averaged almost 12 minutes a game (and that included a DNP vs. Illinois). Even after Nicholson's injury, for the remainder of regular season, Luke was only 13.5 minutes per game. Collins finally committed to Hunger in the BTT, where he logged 32 minutes, and then in the tourney Hunger went 29, and 30 mpg. Coming into this season, it made sense with Hunger's growth that he'd earn more minutes, along with the easing in of Nicholson from a foot injury.
So far this year, this bears out as he's been averaging 18 mpg which corresponds to 45% of total minutes of his platoon with Nix. Pending on strategy and real-time foul situation, it's likely to hover around here.
What's fascinating is that he leads the team with %Shots at 31.6. Which roughly means, when he's on the court, he's responsible for 31.6% of that team's shot attempts. (For comparison, last year Boo Buie had 27.7 %Shots, and Boo was our #1 option.). This would be 10th highest among all individual B1G players this year (minimum 40%Poss to qualify). And as you can see - this is way more assertive compared to the previous year. What's also notable is that while Luke's game time in '23 is rather negligble - (he only played sparingly in the non-con due to injury and Collins preference for the more veteran Tydus/Matt pairing), he chucked it at a Boo-esque rate of 27.1. Despite this high usage, while they're not necessarily above average eFG/TS%, he's improving so that it's around average. (NBA average TS% is 56-57).
Extending the rest of his stat line:
Yep, he's doing better on the offensive end - he's improved in OReb% and Assist Rate. However, so far he's declined in drawing fouls and getting to the free throw line. While, he seems to be around 67-69% FT shooter which isn't great, its still free points. To me this suggests that he's been working outside-in as he's on track to almost double his 3FG takes (assuming he plays 30 games, he's on pace to get to 50 attempts), and perimeter oriented players don't tend to get to the line.
However, I sensed that against UIC he wasn't as perimeter oriented. I checked it out at Torvik and noticed he's trending towards "inside-out":
Hunger didn't take any mid-range shots against the Flames, and attacked the paint. He also had his only 2 FTs of the year against the Flames. While he does show a nice shooting stroke, I really prefer Hunger to take this line of attack. He's got the agility and post-moves to wiggle inside, and this puts pressure on the defense and potentially draws more free throws. Of course, he won't go 100% for the year, but let's get closer to the bonus. Also notable that both his Assist Rate has increased - among 5s, that would rate him 3rd in B1G, and while his TORate has ballooned to 15.7, that would still put him at 10th in B1G at his position - which would put him middle of the table for the league. (and much better than Nicholson, who is currently at 22.6.). All in all, there's some really nice greenshoots for him on offense.
As I further scan, I also understand why he isn't getting an impression on defense. His defensive rebounding has gone down significantly (UIC grabbing back 32.4% of their misses definitely wasn't a good showing for the team in that stat. Though he did tap out one yesterday on a free throw miss, and he's showing a propensity for that - that doesn't always get covered.). He hasn't shown up in the Block rates and Steal rates, but to be fair neither of those are expected features of his skill-set.
Assuming Nicholson isn't in foul-trouble, I expect him to be in lineups that are anchored by two upperclassmen guard-wing combo like Berry/Martinelli; Leach/Barnhizer; mix and match - and then two other bench guys: Windham, Mullins, Ciaravino. In that situation, Hunger seems primed to be a great 3rd option; or perhaps a 2nd option as the upperclassmen draw focus. Maybe he gets on a heater, and they keep feeding him - which allows the seniors to "rest" a bit, or focus more on the defensive end.
All in all - I remain hopeful that we're at his "floor," and that he can be a very effective platoon at the 5 for the defensive-minded Nicholson.
| Year | %Min | ORtg | %Poss | %Shots | eFG | TS% |
| 2023 | 2.6 | 113.4 | 26.8 | 27.1 | 46.4 | 48.9 |
| 2024 | 28.4 | 107.0 | 18.4 | 17.0 | 48.4 | 52.2 |
| 2025 | 45.0 | 111.7 | 27.2 | 31.6 | 54 | 55.9 |
Your memory in 2024 might suggest that he seemed to play more than 28% of the minutes, but to be more specific, through 18 B1G games, Hunger averaged almost 12 minutes a game (and that included a DNP vs. Illinois). Even after Nicholson's injury, for the remainder of regular season, Luke was only 13.5 minutes per game. Collins finally committed to Hunger in the BTT, where he logged 32 minutes, and then in the tourney Hunger went 29, and 30 mpg. Coming into this season, it made sense with Hunger's growth that he'd earn more minutes, along with the easing in of Nicholson from a foot injury.
So far this year, this bears out as he's been averaging 18 mpg which corresponds to 45% of total minutes of his platoon with Nix. Pending on strategy and real-time foul situation, it's likely to hover around here.
What's fascinating is that he leads the team with %Shots at 31.6. Which roughly means, when he's on the court, he's responsible for 31.6% of that team's shot attempts. (For comparison, last year Boo Buie had 27.7 %Shots, and Boo was our #1 option.). This would be 10th highest among all individual B1G players this year (minimum 40%Poss to qualify). And as you can see - this is way more assertive compared to the previous year. What's also notable is that while Luke's game time in '23 is rather negligble - (he only played sparingly in the non-con due to injury and Collins preference for the more veteran Tydus/Matt pairing), he chucked it at a Boo-esque rate of 27.1. Despite this high usage, while they're not necessarily above average eFG/TS%, he's improving so that it's around average. (NBA average TS% is 56-57).
Extending the rest of his stat line:
| Year | OReb/DReb% | ARate/TORate | Blk% | Stl% | FC/40, FD/40 | Free Throw Rate | Free Throw | 2FG | 3FG |
| 2023 | 24.8/0.0 | 6.7/6.4 | 0 | 0 | 4.4, 4.8 | 35.7 | .600 (3/5) | .417 (5/12) | .500 (1/2) |
| 2024 | 8.4/12.1 | 9.5/13.6 | 2.2 | 0.5 | 6.6, 3.5 | 40 | .684 (26/38) | .569 (37/65) | .200 (6/30) |
| 2025 | 11.3/4.3 | 18.8/15.7 | 0 | 0 | 4.4, 2.7 | 8 | 1.000 (2/2) | .600 (12/20) | .200 (1/5) |
Yep, he's doing better on the offensive end - he's improved in OReb% and Assist Rate. However, so far he's declined in drawing fouls and getting to the free throw line. While, he seems to be around 67-69% FT shooter which isn't great, its still free points. To me this suggests that he's been working outside-in as he's on track to almost double his 3FG takes (assuming he plays 30 games, he's on pace to get to 50 attempts), and perimeter oriented players don't tend to get to the line.
However, I sensed that against UIC he wasn't as perimeter oriented. I checked it out at Torvik and noticed he's trending towards "inside-out":
| Opponent | DUNK | RIM | MID | 3PT |
| vs. Lehigh | 0-0 | 2-3 | 4-4 | 1-3 |
| vs. Dayton | 0-0 | 1-3 | 1-3 | 0-1 |
| vs. UIC | 2-3 | 4-7 | 0-0 | 0-1 |
Hunger didn't take any mid-range shots against the Flames, and attacked the paint. He also had his only 2 FTs of the year against the Flames. While he does show a nice shooting stroke, I really prefer Hunger to take this line of attack. He's got the agility and post-moves to wiggle inside, and this puts pressure on the defense and potentially draws more free throws. Of course, he won't go 100% for the year, but let's get closer to the bonus. Also notable that both his Assist Rate has increased - among 5s, that would rate him 3rd in B1G, and while his TORate has ballooned to 15.7, that would still put him at 10th in B1G at his position - which would put him middle of the table for the league. (and much better than Nicholson, who is currently at 22.6.). All in all, there's some really nice greenshoots for him on offense.
As I further scan, I also understand why he isn't getting an impression on defense. His defensive rebounding has gone down significantly (UIC grabbing back 32.4% of their misses definitely wasn't a good showing for the team in that stat. Though he did tap out one yesterday on a free throw miss, and he's showing a propensity for that - that doesn't always get covered.). He hasn't shown up in the Block rates and Steal rates, but to be fair neither of those are expected features of his skill-set.
Assuming Nicholson isn't in foul-trouble, I expect him to be in lineups that are anchored by two upperclassmen guard-wing combo like Berry/Martinelli; Leach/Barnhizer; mix and match - and then two other bench guys: Windham, Mullins, Ciaravino. In that situation, Hunger seems primed to be a great 3rd option; or perhaps a 2nd option as the upperclassmen draw focus. Maybe he gets on a heater, and they keep feeding him - which allows the seniors to "rest" a bit, or focus more on the defensive end.
All in all - I remain hopeful that we're at his "floor," and that he can be a very effective platoon at the 5 for the defensive-minded Nicholson.
