Hunter Schofield is 1 smart basketball player…and that ain’t just whistlin’ Dixie! The Dixie State big man had a sensational senior season by leading his team in rebounding and finishing 2nd in scoring, then topped it off last month by being named an Academic All-American. He had a perfect 4.0 GPA last spring as an exercise science major and is planning to become a physical therapist in the future. Earlier this week HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with Hunter about facing an undefeated Gonzaga team and his super-athletic family.
You were born/raised in Utah and began your college career at Salt Lake CC: what made you choose Dixie State? It was a really easy decision for me to come here after seeing the campus/meeting the coaches. It is pretty close to home and just felt like the right fit for me.
You play for Coach Jon Judkins: what makes him such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from him so far? He has so much experience and finds a way to connect with each player on a personal level so it is easy to trust him. I have learned a lot from him about the details of the game: he has been able to help me improve individually and is great to play for.
Last year was the school’s 1st year as a D-1 program: what was the best part? It was huge for me. I always dreamed of playing at the D-1 level, which is another reason that I wanted to come here. It was cool to play against some really good teams.
Last December you scored 8 PTS in a loss at Gonzaga (Academic All-American of the Year Corey Kispert scored 25 PTS): where do the Bulldogs rank among the greatest teams that you have ever seen, and were you surprised that they lost to Baylor in the NCAA title game? They were for sure the best team that I have ever played against: they have no weak spots. I was surprised to see them lose but it is hard for any team to go undefeated.
Last February you scored a career-high 31 PTS/11-16 FG in a 4-PT win at Utah Valley: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? It definitely was 1 of those types of games. I am from Spanish Fork (which is about 20 minutes from UVU) so I had a lot of family watching that game. I got into a rhythm and everything was falling.
Last month you were named 2nd-team Academic All-American: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? It feels really cool to see all of your hard work pay off and get recognized. I have always focused on getting good grades so it was a great accomplishment.
You are an exercise science major: what is exercise science, and what do you hope to do in the future? It is about studying human movement. I plan to become a physical therapist and will be applying to physical therapy programs in the year ahead.
You had a perfect 4.0 GPA last spring: how do you balance your work on the court with your work in the classroom? Sometimes it is difficult so you have to be willing to stay up late: even after you come home from practice and are tired you need to take time to do your schoolwork. When you have road games you also need to get your assignments done: you have to stay organized and stay on top of it.
What was the hardest part of being a student during a pandemic, and what was the hardest part of being an athlete during a pandemic? As a student all of our classes got moved online for a while, which was a lot different than being in a classroom so it was a big adjustment. As a basketball player we would have had summer workouts without the pandemic so it was hard that we did not get together as a team until August and did not have as much preparation time as we would have normally had.
Your wife Lauren was an All-American volleyball player at Dixie State and your father Jeff played basketball at Weber State: who is the best athlete in the family? That is a hard question! I have a lot of athletes in my family: my siblings/cousins also played college sports so it is hard to say who is the best. It helped me see what it takes to become a college athlete and has helped me in my own career.