Updated 3/4/2024 10:30 PM

Poise is an asset that can help in nearly every endeavor.

Donovyn Hunter seems to have an early corner on the market.

Oregon State’s freshman point guard handles the basketball and, it would seem, her life with equal aplomb.

The South Medford High grad isn’t the heartbeat of the 11th-ranked Beavers — that would be Talia von Oelhoffen. But Hunter has been an essential piece in their resurgence after a 2022-23 season in which they went 13-18 overall and only 4-14 in Pac-12 play.

“We all had goals to win a lot of games and grow from where they were last year, and the job hasn’t been finished yet,” Hunter says. “We are working hard, and that has led us to a lot of good things.”

Another big one is out there for Oregon State (22-5 overall, 11-5 in conference play), which plays host to fourth-ranked Stanford (24-4, 13-3) in a 7 p.m. showdown Thursday at Gill Coliseum.

“I respect Stanford so much,” Hunter says. “They are such a smart team. I learned a lot from playing against them the first time (a 65-56 loss at Palo Alto on Jan. 21). I am excited to play them and see how well our team does, and to see how much we have grown since the first time we played.”

The 6-foot Hunter’s numbers won’t dazzle you — 6.4 points and 3.2 assists per game while shooting .416 from the field, .318 from 3-point range and .474 from the free throw line. Those numbers are going to improve, but for now her biggest contributions are at the defensive end and in handling the ball for the Beavers against pressure. Hunter ranks tied for eighth in the Pac-12 in assist/turnover ratio (2.10, 88 assists to 42 turnovers) and has been the Beavers’ most natural floor leader since Aleah Goodman.

“She is a great ballhandler,” head coach Scott Rueck says. “I’ve got to give her parents and those who coached her growing up a ton of credit for developing the skills that allow her to be calm and have a tight handle against some of the best pressure you’ll find.”

Hunter believes her self-assurance on the basketball court is just part of her nature.

“I have had some Oregon State fans compliment me on my poise and ask, ‘How do you do it?’ ” she says. “It comes down to the fact that, in general, I am pretty calm as a person with things that happen in life.

“I think that transitions to basketball. When you are bringing the ball upcourt, knowing you have to handle the ball, start the play, resist pressure, deliver the ball on time — you have to calm yourself down. Having the poise already — most of the time, anyway — helps me on the court.”

Her coaches can’t help but notice.

“ ‘Dono’ is a true competitor with maturity beyond her years,” Rueck says. “She has a clear, level head. She handles mistakes quickly and efficiently, then moves on to the next play.”

“We can see the maturity,” director of player personnel Eric Ely says. “She is very even-keeled. She doesn’t get too high or too low. That has been a blessing for us.”

Part of that comes from being a coach’s kid. Her father, Sherman Hunter Sr., and wife Trisha ran a basketball training facility in Medford for several years. Donovyn, older brother Sherman Jr. and younger brother Kingston all benefitted from that.

“We are a huge basketball family,” Donovyn says. “When my mom was out doing stuff, I was with my dad in the gym watching my older brother practice. That’s how I got in the groove of playing basketball. Dad’s knowledge for the game is outstanding. He did a lot of one-on-one training with kids — weight-lifting, speed and agility, transformation stuff.”

Donovyn pauses, then has another thought.

“I really wasn’t there as much as you would think, though,” she says. “Dad trained me when I was growing up, and finding the balance between him being Dad and trainer sometimes was hard. I always tried to keep a good balance between family life and basketball.”

Hunter has overcome a pair of ACL surgeries to her right knee — one the summer before her freshman year at South Medford, the other between her sophomore and junior years. She has been healthy since then    -- her last surgery was nearly three years ago — and last season led the Panthers to the Class 6A state championship game, earning state Co-Player of the Year honors.

Donovyn had a number of scholarship offers, but “Oregon State was always at the top of my list,” she says. “By the time it was time to take official visits, I had already made my mind up on Oregon State.”

Why?

“A lot of things,” she says. “The culture. The beliefs that all the (coaching) staff has. The family culture the girls have. Coaches from a lot of schools say, ‘We have a great team full of great girls.’ At Oregon State, it’s really true. Every single person is solid. I respect every one of them. Such kind-hearted people.

“College athletics is a tight circle. Whether or not (teammates) can lean on each other is really important.

You want to have a second family away from home, so you feel safe and in a good spot. That was the thing that struck me most, the way all the staff and the players are outside of basketball.”

Hunter arrived vying for a starting point guard role with sophomore Martha Pietsch and freshman Kennedie Shuler from Barlow. Pietsch started the opener against Arkansas-Pine Bluff, but Hunter came off the bench for a vital 14-point, six-assist performance to spark a second-half comeback in an 85-74 victory. She has been a fixture in the starting lineup ever since.

“I didn’t really have any expectations,” Hunter says. “I was just trying to keep my mind as open as possible, to learn a lot of things, and in whatever role Scott gave me, to do it as well as I could.

“It has gone well. I have had games where I have not produced how I wanted to — scoring points or having a certain amount of assists. But I have grown a lot, and that has been my primary (individual) goal.”

Her work at the defensive end earned her the starting nod.

“I know she loves defense,” Rueck says. “I saw that in high school. That is one of the toughest things to adapt to at the college level. Her defense was already at a high level. Her physical attributes, along with her mindset, allowed her to play that well defensively from the start.”

The transition from high school to college ball has been dramatic, however, for Hunter.

“You have to show up every day and play hard, just like in high school,” she says. “The game is a lot faster, but not so much physically faster. It’s the mental aspect, your IQ for the game — there is a lot there, especially at the point guard spot.

“You think you know a lot about the game, and then coaches give you new insights on how to run the position, and it’s like, ‘Holy crap! I didn’t even know this was a thing.’ Transitioning to that was hard. It takes a while. But the coaches have been great in helping and supporting me.”

Goodman — who works with the guards along with veteran assistant coach Jonas Chatterton — has been of particular assistance. Goodman played point guard at Oregon State from 2018-21, earning Pac-12 Sixth Player of the Year honors as a sophomore and all-conference laurels as a senior.

“Aleah watches film with me, does one-on-ones with me,” Hunter says. “She is on the sidelines during practice. Any time I do a little mess-up or need to improve something, she is pulling me aside and talking to me.

“It helps having a college player at my position who played under Scott. She is on the same wavelength as Scott and understands the pressures (of point guard). She has been tremendous giving insight on how she handled it.”

It didn’t take Hunter long to win over Goodman.

“It’s a challenge taking over that starting point guard as a freshman, especially in the Pac-12, where it’s a grind every game,” Goodman says. “I’m super proud of Donovyn. It has been cool to see her progress over the course of the year. It feels like the game is starting to slow down a lot for her.

“I feel like we have a great relationship. I have been able to share some tools that helped me through my journey and career — little things that the normal person wouldn’t think about, but I know helped me a lot. I have been in her shoes. I know what it is like to be in that role. I can relate to her in a lot of ways.”

Hunter’s versatility has impressed Goodman, along with being Oregon State’s best defensive guard since Gabby Hanson, Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2016-17.

“I love the pace she plays with,” Goodman says. “She is an extremely good athlete. She handles the ball well and has limited turnovers. She is able to fight off some of the tough defenders and create things for our offense. On defense, she can pressure opposing guards and overwhelm them the length of the court. That’s one of the things that’s special about her. We haven’t have that for a few years, probably back to Gabby. She helps our defense a lot.

“I can’t say enough good things about Donovyn and the way she has handled everything and has learned so much in the first year.”

On one glorious weekend in late January, Hunter’s offensive skills came to full bloom. She scored 16 points with four assists as the Beavers upset then-third-ranked Colorado 68-62. Two days later, she came through with 17 points and 10 assists in OSU’s 91-66 dismantling of No. 16 Utah. Hunter was rewarded with the Pac-12 Freshman of the Week award.

Other than that, Hunter’s offense has been sporadic at best. She has shown the ability to get to the basket and score, but often has seemed reluctant to take an open shot or try to create one.

“It’s understandable,” Goodman says. “As a freshman, you’re new. You’re trying to figure out your role, trying to determine when it is time to be aggressive and run some plays.”

Says Rueck: “I figured the scoring would come with repetition and learning how to find her spots. We have seen her elevate. She has hit some huge shots and carried us offensively at times.”

Hunter is working her way toward being more of an offensive threat.

“You have what I call ‘true freshman’ thoughts,” she says. “You don’t want to step on anyone’s toes when you first come in here. I don’t want to overstep boundaries. I don’t want to shoot too much. But it’s so far into this season, now it’s what can I do to impact the team the most? If that’s taking a big shot, I’m learning to do that.

“There are games when I think, ‘I should have taken that shot,’ or ‘I should have dribbled and drawn people in to get more opportunities.’ With each game, each practice, I am gaining knowledge and more confidence in myself. Not a lot of people understand how much is going on in my brain, how many things I have to think about in a single possession. It’s also about understanding I’m not going to make every shot and not getting down on myself. It comes with time. If I don’t shoot well one game, go out and improve on it the next.”

The transition to college life off the court has been a bit easier for Hunter, whose 4.2 high school GPA reflects a seriousness about her studies. She bettered a 3.0 during her first term at OSU, where she is majoring in business marketing.

“That was fine,” she says. “I was focusing less on getting all A’s than getting assignments done and doing tests. With high school you want to set your GPA as high as possible, not knowing where you are going to college. At least I haven’t gotten a ‘C’ yet.

“College life has honestly gone pretty smoothly. I have a pretty good mindset when it comes to being comfortable with things. It’s busy. You have your days when it’s hard to find time to even call your parents. Trying to fit that in with practice and doing your schoolwork is a lot harder than you would think. The hardest thing has been finding time to maintain all my relationships in life.”

Hunter says she enjoys a strong relationship with Rueck.

“To win games, you need a really good coach,” she says. “Scott is an amazing coach. His knowledge of the game …    he is so impactful with what he knows and all the small details. I’ve learned so much from him. I’m blessed I get to play for him.”

She has similar feelings about her teammates.

“Playing with this group of girls has helped make the journey really fun for me,” she says. “When I enter the locker room, I forget all the things I’m thinking about, because everyone is so lighthearted and has a good, positive attitude.”

Hunter has found little time to tend to outside interests during her first year in college.

“I don’t do much during the season,” she says. “Besides basketball and school, my priorities are family and friends, and relaxing, making sure I’m recovering well. Over time, you pick up small hobbies. I went on a little photography kick and got a camera, but there’s no time to do anything with that right now. Hiking, lake days, boating — those are things that are fun that take my mind off basketball. And I do some journaling, where I take some time to help the mental side of life.”

The Stanford game is big, but it could have been bigger. Had the Beavers not fallen 61-51 to unranked Washington — albeit without injured center Raegan Beers — last Sunday, they would be playing for a share of first place in the Pac-12. They shot only .352 from the field and had 15 turnovers against the Huskies. Hunter was 3 for 3 on 2-point attempts but 0 for 4 from 3-point range.

“Those games happen,” Hunter says with a shrug. “Shots don’t go down. Rae is such an impactful player. It circles back to where I need to learn to shoot the shots and be impactful on the scoring end. It’s about trying to learn and navigate how to step up in certain spots. It’s a learning moment.”

Even so, a win Thursday night over Tara VanDerveer’s Cardinal would move up the Beavers — who are 15-1 at Gill this season — in the national rankings and solidify hopes for hosting an NCAA Tournament Regional March 29 through April 1 at Moda Center. Coming out triumphant at the Regional would mean OSU’s first trip to the Final Four since 2016.

“Of course you think of those things,” Hunter admits. “But teams that make it to that point focus on just the game ahead of them. It would be great to go to the Final Four, but we have so many games ahead of us before that, we will focus on those games. We have high goals, but we are focusing first on Stanford, then Cal (Saturday at Gill).”

Individual goals? Hunter isn’t interested other than this: “I want to hold myself to a standard of, ‘How hard can I work for my team?’ I want to walk off the court knowing I did everything I could.”

So far, so good.

“She has handled everything beautifully,” Rueck says. “She is playing basketball beyond her years.”

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Oregon State women’s basketball team complete their regular season schedule with two games at Gill Coliseum this weekend. The Beavs faceoff against the #4 ranked Stanford Cardinal at 7:00 PM Thursday February 29 on the Pac-12 Oregon Network. The final game is on Saturday March 2 at Noon v. the Cal Bears on the Pac -12 Networks.

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