FRESHMAN PHENOM: Freshman Hunterton has made Yale a contender gain

As a senior at Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas, Gabe Hunterton was the most highly touted recruit to commit to the Ivy League since Jerome Allen. Like Allen, Hunterton sought a world-class education and hoped to become a leader on the hardwood. And like Allen, Hunterton was part of a strong recruiting class he hopes leads the Elis to the Ivy League championship before he graduates. Friday night in Yale's Payne Whitney Gymnasium, Hunterton will have the opportunity to go head-to-head with Allen. First place in the Ivy League standings will be at stake, as will the top spot in the league's scoring category. Allen currently ranks second with 15.5 points per game through Penn's first 14 contests, while Hunterton is leading the Elis with 13.3. In Yale's four Ivy contests, that scoring clip has risen to an extraordinary 18.5. "I can't wait to play against Allen and [Penn guard Matt] Maloney," Hunterton said. "I wish we could play against the best teams in the country every weekend. It's always a challenge to play against people that are supposedly better than you." Although Hunterton will be a stiff test for Allen and Maloney, the Quakers' star backcourt will be ready for him. "We'll be mixing up the matchups as we have all year," Allen said. "He's been playing very well, but the key is for us to control the tempo and stay in focus and in control. I respect everybody I play against. When you start taking things for granted because they're freshmen or whatever, that's when you get beat." Hunterton's resume shows he is not someone who should be taken for granted. Last season at Gorman, Hunterton averaged better than 30 ppg en route to becoming the school's all-time leading scorer and being named the Las Vegas player of the year. "There's no doubt he's a great scorer," Penn coach Fran Dunphy said of Hunterton. "He's a player that can create his own shot. Their two guards are both scorers. They complement each other nicely. Hunterton has tremendous poise. He doesn't get rattled, and he makes his shots. I like what I've seen." Dunphy recruited the him only lightly. The Quakers focused their efforts more on freshman George Zaninovich. According to Hunterton's mother, Yale was the only school that was serious about her son. "Yale was by far the most interested, and he knew he'd have a leadership impact," Nancy Sargent-Hunterton said. "He wanted to go somewhere and develop their program. To this point, he is delighted. He didn't anticipate his success to this degree." Discussing his sudden stardom in New Haven, Hunterton gives all the credit to his teammates. Backcourt mate Jim Kawahito has contributed 11.3 ppg in the Elis' four Ivy League games, taking much of the pressure off the 6-foot-2-inch freshman. "With Jim and three real good frontcourt players, I've gotten lots of good looks at the basket all year," Hunterton said. "Early on, I just wasn't hitting my shots. I've started to heat up of late, and my numbers are improving a lot." Those numbers have been astronomical in Ivy games. 18.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 2.75 assists per game. He's shooting 45.1 percent from the field, 50 percent from downtown and 87.5 from the charity stripe. Despite three straight Ivy League Rookie of the Week honors and other individual accolades, Hunterton's goals are all team oriented. He wants to win the Ivy title and get to the NCAA tournament. "I can't wait to play Penn," he said. "It's our chance to prove we belong at the top of this league."