How new Memphis Tiger Tyrese Hunter found his passion for basketball − and how it saved him

Tyrese Hunter's love for basketball goes back as far as he can remember.

And it has loved him back.

It has opened doors, shepherding Hunter from his hometown (Racine, Wis.) to stardom at Iowa State, success at Texas and now, a fresh start with the Memphis Tigers. It has been a pathway. It has been a platform. It has been a provider.

More than anything else, though, basketball has been Hunter’s peacemaker. His protector. A savior that offered a promising, mild-mannered youngster safe haven during his darkest hours. At 6 years old – barely old enough to dribble – Hunter's father (Brian Hunter Sr.) died suddenly of cardiac arrest. He was 43. When Hunter was 13, his mother (Idamae Wells-Jones) died of kidney failure. She was 45.

Basketball has been the constant for the 20-year-old (who turns 21 in August) point guard.

“Going through those hard times, that’s what helped me push through it,” Hunter recently told The Commercial Appeal. “That’s where I found my passion for basketball.

“It showed me exactly what I want to be in life.”

Tyrese Hunter, the fighter

Hunter is the third-youngest of 12 siblings and half-siblings. His oldest brother, Brian Jr., became his legal guardian in 2016, following his mother’s death.

Even though he was 17 years Hunter’s senior with a wife and two young daughters, Brian Jr. was always heavily involved. Whether he was coaching the youth football team that featured his younger brother on offense and defense or having him over for dinner, the relationship was strong. It made the move a natural fit.

“We were always close,” said Brian Jr., a former Division III basketball player at Wisconsin-Whitewater. “Sports was kind of what bonded us.”

That was also around the time Hunter was introduced to Nick Bennett. Hired as the head basketball coach at St. Catherine’s only four months earlier, Bennett (whose cousin, Tony, is the head coach at Virginia) was on middle school cafeteria duty when he learned of the talented eighth-grader’s mother’s death the night before.

Bennett pulled Hunter aside and asked him if he needed anything. Lunch money. A place to stay. Anything.

“He said, ‘I just don’t want people to feel sorry for me,’ “ said Bennett, who also spent 11 years coaching at the collegiate level and is now at The Latin School of Chicago. “Tyrese is the best player I’ve ever coached talent-wise. But, even if he had been the worst, the impression he left on me at that moment – it let me know, this kid’s got a little something different about him.”

Tyrese Hunter, the winner

Predictably, Hunter dominated the Wisconsin prep scene. The quick-twitch 6-footer with easy burst and a knack for acrobatic finishes around the rim led St. Catherine’s to a state championship as a junior. He averaged 18.9 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists per game as a senior.

The Angels were 53-1 those two seasons. The only loss was an overtime game Hunter didn’t finish due to injury.

His success made him a 4-star, top-50 recruit and took him to Iowa State, where he was named Big 12 Freshman of the Year after putting up 11.0 points, 4.9 assists and 3.5 rebounds a game. Hunter carried the Cyclones to the Sweet 16. The season before he arrived, they won two whole games.

In two seasons at Texas, the Longhorns won 50 games. They reached the Elite Eight in 2023 and the round of 32 earlier this year.

Hunter has started every game of his collegiate career and all but the first game of his high school career. Which still haunts Bennett.

“I always tell people I’m the only coach dumb enough to not start him,” he said. “He had 18 or 19 off the bench. The next game, we went on the road and the kid he was playing behind forgot his jersey. The rest is history.”

Hunter has been especially good in March. His teams are 6-3 in NCAA Tournament games and he has averaged 11.7 points (on 44.5% shooting from the field – 36.5% from three), 4.2 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 1.7 steals in the Big Dance.

“I don’t think that gets talked about enough,” said Brian. “He’ll do whatever it takes to win.”

Tyrese Hunter, the Memphis Tiger

When Hunter began looking for a new destination for his senior season, the search didn’t last long. Even though he was courted by Kentucky, Louisville, Wake Forest, Wisconsin, Virginia, NC State and others, he said Memphis was among the first to reach out and one of the most persistent.

The prospect of working within a system built around tenacious defense and high-octane offense appealed to Hunter, eager to showcase the full breadth of his potential.

“I feel like Memphis fans will see the real side of Tyrese,” said Kamari McGee, a senior guard at Wisconsin who grew up with Hunter and played alongside him at St. Catherine’s. “With Tyrese in a program like that, you’ll see him flourish and take his game to the next level.”

Hunter − who will make the move to Memphis in late May or early June with his 5-month-old toy Poodle, Hailo, and his 16-month-old French Bulldog, Neiko − also has high aspirations.

“I think I can really be myself (at Memphis),” he said. “I’ve got basic goals – win and get to the next level. But I want to win Defensive Player of the Year, because I have so much pride in that. And I want to compete for the Bob Cousy Award (which goes to the nation’s top point guard). I feel like I can have the opportunity to do that.”

Reach sports writer Jason Munz at jason.munz@commercialappeal.com or follow him @munzly on X, the social media app formerly known as Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: Memphis basketball's Tyrese Hunter saved by passion for the game