MADISON – Wisconsin coach Greg Gard and his staff have found their replacement for Chucky Hepburn.
Camren Hunter, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound guard who played two seasons at Central Arkansas, announced Sunday that he has committed to UW.
“We’re excited to have Camren join our program,” Gard said. “His skillset is a great addition to our team, but what also stood out to us is his character and work ethic.
“Camren joins us from Central Arkansas, where he worked his way up and showed off his talent. He had two straight all-conference seasons before injury sidelined him this past year. When watching Camren’s game, we feel that he has a Big Ten body at the guard position that will translate here.
“We look forward to working with Camren to help him grow and continue to elevate his game here at Wisconsin.”
Hunter missed last season because of a foot injury suffered in October.
However, he was an all-Atlantic Sun Conference in each of his first two seasons.
Hepburn, who started three seasons at UW, recently announced he is transferring to Louisville.
A native of Bryant, Arkansas, Hunter averaged 14.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.4 assists per game as a freshman.
He shot just 25.0% from three-point range (25 of 100) but hit 81.5% of his free throws (88 of 108), started all 30 games and was named the league’s freshman of the year. He also had a team-best 103 assists.
Hunter improved to 32.3% from three-point range (43 of 133) as a sophomore and averaged 16.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.8 assists. He also shot 79.6% from the free-throw in line (74 of 93).
He started 30 of 31 games, averaged a team-best 33.9 minutes and scored in double figures in 27 games.
Hunter contemplated transferring after his freshman season. His finalists were Arkansas, Butler, Missouri, Saint Lous and Loyola-Chicago but he chose to return to Central Arkansas.
Hunter chose to enter the transfer portal this year after head coach Anthony Boone was fired. Hunter visited UW and Saint Louis before committing to the Badgers.
The commitment from Hunter came after UW evaluated several potential transfers, including point guard Tyrese Hunter, a former Racine St. Catherine’s player, who committed to Memphis.
Hepburn was one of four scholarship players who opted to transfer after last season. AJ Storr committed to Kansas and Connor Essegian committed to Nebraska. Gus Yalden, who did not play last season, committed to Seton Hall.
The Badgers signed two freshmen in November – guard Daniel Freitag and wing Jack Robison – and continue to recruit players who have entered the transfer portal.
Forwards Xavier Amos (Northern Illinois) and Matt Cross (UMass) recently took official visits to UW and guard Jaden Schutt (Duke) also plans to visit Madison.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin men’s basketball lands transfer Camren Hunter
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