Sharp-shooting Hunter Cattoor having tremendous success at Virginia Tech
It’s difficult for a shooter to explain, but when on the basketball floor and in that zone, it seems nothing can stop the ball from going in the hole. From the catch to the footwork and spot-up to the release, it’s all natural and when a shooter is on, he knows the ball is bound for the net.
Former Bishop Moore standout Hunter Cattoor is that kind of shooter, and he will be back in Orlando this week with the Virginia Tech Hokies as they take part in the ESPN Events Invitational at Disney. The tournament starts Thanksgiving and runs through Sunday, with an idle day on Saturday.
“I would just have to say hard work,” Cattoor said about his ability to hit 3-pointers the way he does.
For his career at Virginia Tech, he has hit 42% of his attempts from beyond the arc.
“Nothing in this game is given and you reap what you sow,” Cattoor said in regard to his approach to shooting, “and so just constantly putting in hard work, believing in myself and having coaches and players believe in me also, even when I’m going through shooting slumps.
“Having people telling me, ‘Hey, you’re the best shooter. Keep shooting,’ things like that, so a lot of credit goes to the guys I work out with and the coaches and players who put their trust in me.”
Virginia Tech opens with Boise State at 8 p.m. at the State Farm Field House at Disney. The tourney boasts its best field ever, with six of the eight teams coming off NCAA tourney-qualifying seasons: FAU (Final Four) as well as Penn State, Boise State, Iowa State, Texas A&M and Virginia Commonwealth, with Tech and Butler being the only two non-qualifiers.
The zone that shooters get in is inexplicable. They just feel a different way in the moment, like they can do no wrong and every shot is destined for the bottom of the net.
“I wish I was in that zone all the time,” Cattoor said. “I think you get it through reps. The more reps you put it, I really try to emulate games and going full speed so that when you do get into game situations, it’s not like something you haven’t done before or you weren’t prepared for it. Basketball is a lot mental, and if you don’t have confidence in yourself, you’re not going to perform very well, so having that mental side of being confident goes a long way.”
Virginia Tech qualified for the NCAA Tournament in 2022 in large part due to Cattoor. He was impressive in the ACC Tournament, and the Hokies cruised through as the No. 7 seed, dispatching of Duke in the title game 82-67. Cattoor was named the tourney MVP after hitting seven 3-pointers and scoring 31 points to take down Mike Krzyzewski, Paolo Banchero and the Blue Devils. Tech lost to Texas in the first round of the NCAA tourney.
“It was crazy, surreal. It’s one of those things you always dream of, not necessarily winning the MVP, but playing in a big game to win a championship,” Cattoor said. “For our team to go out there and stick together for that whole tournament and do what we did in Brooklyn was really cool and it was an experience I will never forget.”
At Bishop Moore, Cattoor’s career came to an unfortunate end with an ankle sprain that kept him out the final month of his senior year until the first round of the playoffs, in which the Hornets lost. Cattoor, however, already had signed with Wofford. But when coach Mike Young was hired by Virginia Tech, Cattoor was released from his National Letter of Intent and followed Young to Blacksburg, Va.
“I committed to Wofford in September and he ended up getting the Virginia Tech job in April, so I got out of my commitment offer and took a visit to Virginia Tech and committed,” Cattoor said.
Interestingly, Cattoor and the Hookies played against Wofford at home this past Sunday, winning 98-76, and Cattoor had 17 points with four 3-pointers. The Hokies are 3-1 and Cattoor is averaging 13.8 points per game and has hit 45% of his 3-point shots heading into the ESPN tourney.
Cattoor is excited to be coming home and said his Hokies are ready for the challenge.
“That’s another plus. I get to go home for Thanksgiving,” Cattoor said. “It won’t be like a normal Thanksgiving, with a lot of things going on, with everyone going everywhere, but it will be exciting to be back home and see some people.
“It’s a good field of teams and I’m excited for the opportunity for us to come down there and play good basketball.”
Chris Hays covers high school and college football and college football recruiting. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) @OS_ChrisHays or on Instagram @OS_ChrisHays. Email him at chays@orlandosentinel.com.
