How Current Atlanta Hawks Looked in March Madness
By Dallin Duffy
De’Andre Hunter
In two years with Virginia, De’Andre Hunter experienced the highest of highs and the lowest of lows in the NCAA tournament.
As a freshman in 2018, Hunter won the ACC’s sixth man of the year, with his Cavaliers going 28-2 in the regular season, earning the #1 seed in the south. The Hoosiers were a popular pick to win it all, and then the unthinkable happened.
They fell handily to 16th seeded UMBC, becoming the first (and as of now, only) #1 seed to lose to a 16th seed. If there’s any consolation, De’Andre Hunter did not play in the game after breaking his wrist in the ACC tourney.
Hunter took on a larger role for the Cavaliers as a sophomore, and while the team didn’t see the same dominance in the regular season, still did enough to earn another 1 seed. De’Andre Hunter won the ACC’s defensive player of the year award, and had to be excited to make his tourney debut.
After it looked like their nightmare was going to repeat itself, Virginia rallied back after taking a 6-point deficit to 16th seed Gardner-Webb to halftime. They outscored them 41-20 in the second half to move on. Hunter had 23 points.
They were able to rattle off a few fairly stress-free wins, with Hunter playing his patented tough defense. After a OT victory over Carsen Edwards and Purdue, Virginia advanced to the Final Four. Auburn awaited them in Minnesota, and the game ended up being one of the best of the year.
Even though Kyle Guy was the hero of that one, Hunter made some nice plays on the defensive end.
The National Championship was Hunter’s time to shine, and he stepped up offensively in a big way. He played 44 minutes in the OT thriller, scoring 27 points, his most in his two collegiate seasons. Hunter hit a game-tying three with 15 seconds remaining, and then a go ahead three in OT.
He was rightfully named to the All-Tourney team after a great month, and won a championship. Probably the most accomplished college player on the Atlanta Hawks.