Andra Espinoza-Hunter
Andra Espinoza Hunter is the center of attention because of her place on USA Basketball U16's and her commitment to Connecticut. *Photo by Chris Hansen.
At this level of the sport, expectations and the criticisms that come with them are unavoidable. Perhaps nobody in the 2017 class knows it better than Andra Espinoza Hunter.
Not only is 5-10 guard a returning player from last summer’s FIBA Americas bronze medal winning USA U16 national team, but she is also verbally committed to Connecticut, the winner of the last four NCAA Division I national championships. Not only have the Huskies dominated the sport at the collegiate level, but also Geno Auriemma’s program supplied the top three picks in this year’s WNBA draft, so it is through that lens of the microscope that people look at Espinoza Hunter.
“Oh yes I definitely agree. Obviously being a UConn commit, some people that go against me are like ‘Hey that’s a UConn commit, like I’m going to go at her. I’m going to prove my point that I’m better than her, like X, Y and Z,’” Hunter said. “Also, being able to represent our country last year, coming back, it’s also just another target on my back because (I) made the team last year. ‘So I’m going to go at her to show I’m better than her to make the U17 team.’”
Espinoza Hunter credits a surprise role at the point for
much of her growth as a player this year. *Photo by
Chris Hansen.Through Saturday night’s third competition session, Espinoza Hunter has endured, making two rounds of cuts heading into Sunday morning. But as much pressure as there is simply to make the team, asking a teenager to not feel the added pressure from critics is asking a lot, especially in a social media-infused world where everyone is an expert 140 characters at a time, a time when every turnover or missed shot is a potential sign of failure when measured against unrealistic expectations.
“I really insulate myself. My mom really helps me a lot with that stuff,” Espinoza-Hunter said. “She’s usually, ‘don’t worry about the missed shots or turnovers, just always get it back on defense or try to make a hustle play or anything like that.’ I just really block out the excess noise.”
The negativity hit a fever pitch last June when USA Basketball suffered its first ever defeat in seven years of the U16/U17 competition cycle, falling to Brazil in the semifinal round. Social media was set ablaze with criticism of everything from the coaches and the process to the players themselves.
“I don’t really hear it,” Espinoza-Hunter, who said she stays away from as much social media as she can, said. “I try to stay away from it as much as possible, so if it is said, it doesn’t get to me.”
She also thinks she knows exactly where she and her teammates from last year need to improve to have more success at this summer.
“Definitely my leadership qualities (have improved),” she said. “When we went down to Mexico, that trait wasn’t very displayed every single game or every single practice constantly among the group. So that, and also just becoming stronger and faster, because just the competition as you get older, either its at the U17, U18, the college level, the WNBA, it gets better and better. As I came back from Mexico I realized I needed to get better to compete better.”
Her high school season took a turn with the loss of a teammate, but it was a blessing in disguise for Espinoza-Hunter’s development at Blair Academy.
“This high school season, our starting point guard, Honesty Scott-Grayson, she injured herself, so I had to step up and take the role of a point guard and that’s when I was able to,” Espinoza-Hunter said of her growth as a leader. “As a point guard you direct players on how to run the play but also on the court, either just like saying ‘Hey you had a great play here, but you could have done x, y and z.’ So this high school year really helped me and it really helped challenge my leadership qualities and it really helped me improve.”
As for the U16 team moving forward, Espinoza-Hunter and her teammates learned the lessons and are focused on returning the Stars and Stripes to gold.
“I’m not saying because of our age we were immature, but just saying that it was our first time out there,” she said. “We didn’t know what exactly to expect. We didn’t know should we do this or should we do that. We really second thought ourselves.”
But that is in the past and with one more day to compete and a potentially restless night before the USA Basketball selection committee picks the players to advance to the team practice round (the final 12-member team will be selected on June 3, Espinoza-Hunter will keep with her routine of leaving it on the court and off of the internet.
“Usually I just talk to my mom and my brother,” she said of how she deals with the nerves of the unknown. “They calm me down, “You made it this far, if you just play how you’re used to playing, like hopefully, knock on wood, you’ll be able to make the team. Just keep cool and hope for the best.”
One thing is for certain, Espinoza-Hunter and her fellow returning USA teammates have certainly competed against a high level of competition in the U17 trials and, making the team or not, they will have aided the program in returning to a championship level.
Chris Hansen is managing editor of ProspectsNation.com and serves on the McDonald’s All-American and Naismith Trophy selection committees. He was the national director of scouting for ESPN HoopGurlz from 2005 until 2012 and is the director of the Check Me Out Showcase. He can be reached at chris@prospectsnation.com.
