American Darweshi Hunter says he is ready to shoulder the responsibility of igniting Belfast Star’s All Ireland Superleague season — starting on Saturday night in front of his family.
Hunter celebrated Christmas in Belfast along with partner Kilynn and his two daughters, and the 24-year-old admits that it will be “a special moment” when he steps out on to the Newforge court against Ballincollig with his those familiar faces in the stand.
“This will be the first time my family have seen me play as a professional so it’s going to be awesome and it does give me even more motivation to make sure Belfast Star get the win,” said Hunter.
“It’s been great to have them here in Belfast for Christmas and it will mean a lot for me to look up and see them in the arena.”
Star slipped out of the top eight Play-Off places last weekend after an agonising defeat away to Sligo when they failed to score in a four-minute period down the stretch. Hunter believes he and fellow American Deondre Jackson are the two men who must deliver the firepower if Star are going to be sure of a Play-Off spot at the end of the regular season.
“After each game I go back and watch it and I see different things where I can improve and I do feel down the stretch that I need to be more aggressive and take more shots — but not just that, I need to make sure they’re the right shots and that other guys are getting good looks,” added Hunter.
“We need to finish teams off and I need to be one of those guys who is making sure that happens. Dre and I have gelled pretty quickly and I feel that we can lead the way. Of course, it’s always a team effort but we both believe we have to lead the way.
“Overall, I feel I’ve had a smooth transition. Settling into Belfast has been easy and I even like the weather.
“I spent two years in College in Illinois and it was a lot colder than it is here and there was snow on the ground. This temperature is a lot better for sure.
“As a player, I always feel that I can improve, I’m always looking at areas where I can get better. Overall, I feel I’ve shot the ball quite well and defended pretty well but, of course, I want to improve.
“Last weekend we had opportunities to win the game and didn’t take them.
“We have a chance to get back to winning ways against Ballincollig and I do feel if we can put back-to-back wins together then the whole conversation changes and we’ll have that momentum we need.”
Hunter’s arrival was followed by Dubliner Sean Ingle taking over as Star’s head coach and the return of Jackson to a blue shirt.
The upheaval seemed to be at an end for Star but then came the news that captain Conor Quinn had suffered a knee injury which will rule him out for the next couple of weeks.
“Losing Conor is a blow for us,” said Hunter. “We will miss his scoring and leadership and his voice on the court but it’s just a case of people having to step up. Everybody is going to have to be that little bit better.
“Sean coming in as head coach has been great for us.
“He has given us direction and a consistency. We know what he wants from us defensively and offensively and it’s just a case of us adjusting.
“We need to buy into it and be more focused.
“We may be in 10th spot but I’m not frustrated or concerned because I know we’re going to win games.
“We have the talent and we just need to fix a few things and then everything will click the way we want it to.”