Men’s Basketball Player Previews: Luke Hunger

Last year was filled with uncertainty. This year, Luke Hunger needs to make certain what kind of player he is going to be.

Who he is

Redshirt sophomore; 6-foot-10; from Montreal, Québec; returning bench forward/center

2023-2024 stats

31 games (10 starts), 12.7 minutes per game, 3.8 points per game, 2.1 rebounds per games, 0.6 assists per game, 0.2 blocks per game, 0.1 steals per game, 45.3% FG, 20.0% 3P, 68.4% FT

2023-2024 review

Luke Hunger’s season was inconsistent to say the least. He started the year logging one minute of playing time in the Wildcats second unit, yet he ended up playing 31 minutes in Northwestern’s final game of the season when the ‘Cats lost to UConn in the second round of the east region championship. This was due to the fact that on March 2, starting center Matthew Nicholson suffered a season-ending foot injury. At that time, Hunger was the second tallest player on the roster and was thrown into the starting center role.

Hunger had previously been given a short stint of starts at center during the season, but those were mainly low-minute experiments in disrupting opposing teams by offsetting Nicholson’s minutes from the rest of the regular starting four. In his first career start, Luke Hunger had one of his best games of the season, posting 10 points, four rebounds, and one assist in a win against Michigan State. After a few more starts, he was relegated back to the bench. After the Nicholson injury though, Hunger was thrust back into that starting center spot. Hunger ramped up his minutes against Michigan State and Minnesota before logging 31, 29 and 31 minute games to close out the season.

In the Wildcats’ loss to Wisconsin in the Big Ten tournament, Hunger had six points, four rebounds, and two assists. Northwestern then played Florida Atlantic in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Hunger posted eight points, eight rebounds and four assists in the Wildcats’ win. NU went on to plan UConn in the second round where it lost 75-58. Hunger still managed to notch six points, seven rebounds and two assists. He was in a far different place by the end of the season than he was at the start, largely due to circumstance.

Strengths

Luke Hunger has played only one full season of college basketball and has yet really to find an established, consistent role within Northwestern’s lineup. His main redeeming quality as of now is his positional versatility and ability to fill in when needed. At 6-foot-10, Hunger can play his natural position of power forward or switch into that smaller center role when unlikely situations, like Nicholson’s injury, arise. He also gives the Wildcats the ability to play small ball, which Coach Collins tinkered with at times throughout the back half of last year’s season.

With his size and willingness to shoot the ball, Luke Hunger can also provide small spurts of energy throughout games. In theory, he can do everything on the court, so if he gets into a groove during his small minute stints, he can really provide some life to his team.

Weaknesses

Luke Hunger averaged only 0.2 blocks per game and 2.1 rebounds per game last season. His per 36 numbers look a little better — 6.3 boards is not — but 0.6 blocks is poor for a big man. At his height, Hunger is expected to contribute to protecting the rim and cleaning the glass, both of which he failed to do effectively last season. Even when he started at center for the last five games of the season, he only recorded one block in that span of time and never grabbed more than eight boards in a game. His lack of defense was fully exposed during the NCAA tournament. Florida Atlantic’s center Vladislav Goldin — who Northwestern will see this year again as a part of a retooled Michigan squad — dropped 19 points and nine rebounds in the first round against NU, and UConn’s Donovan Clingan posted 14 points and 14 rebounds against Hunger in the second round. Although he was undersized in both these matchups against top tier collegiate centers, it still stands that Hunger lacks an imposing defensive presence in the paint.

Expectations

The future is largely unknown for Luke Hunger. With the addition of 7-foot Kennan Fitzmorris from Stony Brook, Hunger can expect not to get any more minutes at backup center. He will most likely return to a minimal role at power forward coming off the bench during the 2024-2025 season.

If Hunger wants to prove himself deserving of an expanded role or even of a starting spot this coming season, he has to do a couple of things. First, he has to make the most of his time on the court. He most likely will not get handed 30 minutes of playing time in the NCAA tournament due to someone else’s injury again, so he will have to prove himself in those 8-13 minutes he gets a night. Second, he has to commit to what kind of player he wants to be. If he wants to make use of his size and be a force in the paint, he has to improve defensively and learn to grab more rebounds. If he wants to stretch the floor, he has to shoot at a higher percentage than 20% from 3. No matter who he wants to be, he has to commit to some consistent play style that benefits the Wildcats.

Sometimes, however, we can be too soon to forget. Hunger was the number four overall Canadian prospect coming out of high school. He has had a whole offseason to reassess and develop after his first full season of college basketball. Luke Hunger still has plenty of time to develop and prove that he is an integral part of this Wildcat team.