Get To Know A 2019 Prospect: Hunter Shkapich
When Hunter Shkapich was in third grade, the adjustable basketball hoop in the backyard was set to its lowest height. But, try as he might, Shkapich couldn’t sky high enough to dunk the ball. “I first I couldn’t even touch…
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Continue ReadingWhen Hunter Shkapich was in third grade, the adjustable basketball hoop in the backyard was set to its lowest height. But, try as he might, Shkapich couldn’t sky high enough to dunk the ball.
“I first I couldn’t even touch that,” he said. “But eventually I got it, and I kept raising it higher and higher. I just spent hours and hours out there trying to jump higher.”
Now, Shkapich, a 5-foot-11 Colorado Academy guard preparing to begin his sophomore season, can’t find a rim he can’t punish. The young guard wowed in his first high school season with workout videos that illustrate his impressive ability to get off the ground.
It translated into his impressive freshman season with the Mustangs, when he threw down a pair of in-game dunks.
“I had a lob dunk in game and then a fastbreak dunk,” he said. “I stole it from a guy, went up on the left side and dunked it.”
Then there was this past club season, with Colorado Elite, when Shkapich did things like this:
https://twitter.com/JeremyShkapich/status/731942870744076288
For all his impressive leaping ability and athleticism, putting Shkapich into a box as simply a guy who could jump high would be ignoring the many other talents he brings to the floor.
“I’d say definitely one of my strengths is being able to shoot,” he said. “I can be a knockdown shooter. I’m more than just a dunker. I can handle the ball well, too.”
Indeed, during a standout freshman season in which he averaged 11 points per game, Shkapich shot 45 percent from the field, 38 percent from 3-point range and 86 percent from the free-throw line.
The big numbers come with big dreams. Shkapich is determined to play basketball at the Division I level, and his trip to Air Force elite camp this year gave him a test of what he wants to continue to work toward.
“I was pretty interested in them, the education, and I liked the basketball in the Mountain West Conference,” he said.
For now, Shkapich has been putting heavy hours in the gym and weight room, getting stronger and looking forward to a big sophomore season. He said he took a lot out of playing his first high school season with Justin Bassey, the all-state guard who is now at Harvard.
“With him, it was really teaching me how to play the game,” Shkapich said. “Like the mind-set, always attacking and being a strong finisher and always looking to score, stuff like that.”
With Bassey and standout point guard Christian Hyatt now gone, the rising sophomore will have more responsibility on his hands this season. And Shkapich is ready.
“I want to help my team out, create shots for other people,” the No. 6 prospect in our 2019 class said. “I’ll be looking to attack, always. And just getting a lot better on the defensive side, getting down low and pushing the ball harder.”
And, yeah, expect a dunk or two thrown in as well.