Recruiting Report: Hunter Burchill (2018)
An injury got Valley City guard Hunter Burchill down, but his spirits have always been high. Don’t count this young fighter out. Ever.
“This spring I wasn’t able to play AAU because I was recovering from my ACL surgery last fall,” Hunter said. “I came with (to the events) and watched a couple tournaments in the spring and was getting ready to play again rehabbing hard, unfortunately I ended up tearing my ACL again during the ECI Spring Preview Tournament.
“After that I realized only way to be able to play this winter was to skip surgery and rehab hard. I ended up playing in a couple of tournaments with limited playing time but that gave me time to be a team player and support my teammates.”
ECI is a special bond of coaches, parents, and players and Hunter never wanted to stop being a part of it.
“With my injury I had to play my role for the team and I had to learn how to control myself and not play as hard as I used to be able to.
“I will always remember the close friendships I had from playing with ECI everyone worked as a team and everyone picked each other up and we had no individuals that just cared about themselves. The coaches I will always remember too. We knew we could always count on them.”
How is the injury coming along at this point?
“Things are looking pretty good, swelling is down. I’m going to try to make my knee as strong as I can so I can go as hard as I can for the winter.”
What did Hunter take away from his time playing on AAU courts as a 16u player as well as when Burchill played this summer?
“Most of the guys are more athletic then you are so you have to do the most fundamental things like boxing out every time, playing solid defense not try going for that steal and make smart plays on offense,” Hunter said.
Hunter will not give up on his dream. It will take time to get back on the court and play at the college level but this is a young man you can count on fighting to get to the highest level he can.
“College basketball has always been a dream to play. After winter season I’m going to have surgery again and rehab hard,” Burchill explained. “If I do play I would have to redshirt freshman year. I have had a couple colleges showing minor interest.”
So what is the Hunter Burchill plan going forward?
“The next 12 months I first want to get into the gym as much as I can with my teammates to get a good team bond going so we can be the best we can be going into the season and trying to make a run in the EDC,” Hunter explained.
“After that I want to focus on my knee surgery and what college is the best fit for me.”