Jeff Hunter, of Hudson, is leading the pack for nationally ranked Keene State basketball

The art of leadership, Jeff Hunter has found, is part natural, part learned.

And, he adds, it is a pursuit without end.

But the hard-to-miss, 6-foot-7 centerpiece of the nationally ranked Keene State College men’s basketball team is enjoying the challenge.

The affable big man is having another monster season by every statistical measure. Gaudy numbers, really. Numerical evidence that puts him in elite company nationally in scoring average, rebounding average, blocked shots, shooting percentage and more.

In a recent road win at Eastern Connecticut, Hunter recorded his first career 20-20 stat line. Translated: 20 points, 20 rebounds. In 16 outings, the preseason All-America selection has 12 double-doubles, second best in the nation.

But Hunter’s preoccupation is less with numbers than it is with setting tone and example; modeling work ethic, in words and actions; and in assuring that shared goals and a spirit of collegiality are embedded in the men’s basketball program’s expectations and culture.

Numbers – his or any teammates’ – don’t promise wins and they don’t deliver championships, Hunter said ahead of a recent practice. “Really, our ranking is great for bringing in big crowds and more recruits, but that’s about it.”

“For me,” the co-captain added, “it’s all about reaching the goals we set, getting the best out of one another and it’s the thrill of playing basketball with good friends.”

The Owls’ program-best start and win streak ended Monday, with a nail-biting 86-82 loss to No. 11 Middlebury. The 16-1 squad went into Monday’s contest ranked No. 4 nationally in the latest D3hoops.com poll, and one of only two previously unbeaten teams in Division III.

Keene State has nine remaining contests, all in-conference.

A driven and fierce competitor on the court, Hunter, out of Assabet Valley Regional Technical High School in Marlborough, Mass., doubles as “the nicest kid on earth,” Keene State head coach Ryan Cain said.

“What you see is what you get,” the coach said. “Left-handed, he’s unorthodox to guard. He has a 40-year-old mind and a 20-year-old body. He has always been a leader … like a coach on the floor. There is a reason our program is where it is – it’s because we have great people like Jeff.”

Cain said getting Hunter to Keene State was a competitive – at times stressful – yearlong recruiting process with dozens of road trips to see him play basketball and volleyball, the latter being a one-year side hustle for Hunter. Still, Hunter led the state in kills for volleyball. More than 20 college basketball programs showed interest in Hunter, according to Cain.

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“He was at the top of our list,” Cain said. “Jeff was a double-double guy the minute he walked into our gym; he had that kind of talent. To make the kind of jump he has made this year from last, at this stage of his career, that’s really rare and speaks to who he is.”

Abe Osheyack, the college’s assistant athletic director, recalled seeing basketball footage of Hunter during Hunter’s senior year of high school “and thinking that we don't get athletes like that very often.”

“Jeff is as good a kid as you could want, without any reservation,” Osheyack added. “He represents Keene State well in every way – terrific player, excellent student, natural leader.”

Hunter credits a book titled “Atomic Habits,” given to him as a gift by a close friend from grade-school days, Joey Cammarata, for helping him to be a better leader. Cammarata gave Hunter a journal, too, at the same time.

The New York Times best-selling book explores the power of habit formation as a path to self-improvement, and Hunter said he draws from it routinely.

“I lifted weights for 183 straight days at one point,” Hunter said. “I tracked all my habits on a white board.”

Hunter will take his extra year of eligibility afforded to any student-athlete on a roster in 2020-21 during the COVID-19 outbreak. The extra year will also allow Hunter to complete a second bachelor’s degree, in construction management. His other degree will be in occupational health and safety, and he’ll graduate with a minor in business management, too.

He has not ruled out the possibility of playing professional basketball abroad after college.

The team’s trip to Indiana for an early season invitational, when the Owls scored a nine-point win over Maryville, Tennessee, and then a 22-point decision over then No. 17-ranked Marietta, Ohio, “opened our eyes, as if to say ‘hey, we’re really good,’” Hunter said, turning his attention back to the headline-making season this year’s team is enjoying.

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“But this is about the end goal, bringing the college a national championship, which is something we emphasized all preseason,” Hunter said. “We have not been shy about talking about it. We got a taste last year; we know where and how we came up short.”

Last year the Owls won the LEC title in dramatic fashion, upsetting UMass-Dartmouth on the Corsairs’ home floor, in overtime. An alley-oop dunk by Hunter was the final – and winning – play of the game. From there, the Owls won a first-round NCAA Tournament game, against Swarthmore, but stumbled badly in the second round, losing to Oswego.

The experience, Hunter said, has consumed a lot of his thinking and inspired his preparation for this season.

“I think what we learned from last year is that to be consistent, to be able to go back-to-back in the (NCAA) tournament, you can’t afford a few bad practices,” he said. “It doesn’t come back to bite you in the butt right away, but it will bite you. It did last year. Our team this year doesn’t take practices off, it doesn’t take plays off, and that’s what it will take.”

Hunter has an older brother, TJ, and his mom and dad, Ann and Tom, are his biggest fans. Ann makes all the home games, traveling from their family home in Hudson, Mass.

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Hunter acknowledged that family makes everything possible. “Everything I do is to try to help my family be in a better spot,” he said.

“We’ve always said (that) the best decision Jeff ever made was going to Keene (State),” Ann said. “He put a lot of thought into that decision. It’s a family relationship over there and we’ve been made to feel like a part of that family. I know we can trust Coach Cain to be like a father to Jeff and we know how happy (Jeff) is there.

“I’m so proud to watch Jeff and to see the person he’s become, that I could cry.”

Hunter and teammate Octavio Britto have been named to the Bevo Francis Top 100 Watch List for 2023. The list features top players from NCAA Division II and III, NAIA, USCAA and NCCAA.

Going into Wednesday’s game against Castleton State, Hunter has 1,151 career points, which is 27th best in program history. His rebound (803) and blocked shot (129) totals rank in the top 10 in the college record books.

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With another season of eligibility “it’s highly likely he will break the block-shots record, and could break the rebounding record, too, but not this season,” Osheyack said.

Hunter, of course, would rather talk about habits, not numbers.

This article originally appeared on MetroWest Daily News: Hudson's Jeff Hunter leading Keene State College men's basketball team