Hunter Sadlon’s No. 1 fan will be in the Winthrop Coliseum crowd on Senior Night

When, if, Hunter Sadlon makes the first start of his college basketball career on Senior Night Thursday at Winthrop Coliseum, the Eagles senior will look toward the baseline and see his family and many friends. One of them, Robert Hunt, will wear a Hunter Sadlon No. 33 jersey.

Hunter said after practice on Tuesday that Robert is his best friend and will be the best man at his wedding. Robert has Down syndrome. He also likes to rap, and he’s obsessed with LeBron James.

Robert met Hunter as a manager for the Turpin High School basketball team in Cincinnati, and not only dressed in uniform on Senior Night but was rewarded with his first and only minutes on the court.

Wearing a headband like LeBron, Robert banked home a layup on an inbounds play before halftime. He celebrated like his idol, palms downward, arms by his side pumping up and down while the crowd roared.

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If Hunter scores Thursday night against Charleston Southern, the Coliseum will roar, though probably not as loudly as the Turpin gym did in 2015. No one will be happier than the gregarious 20-year old wearing the Hunter Sadlon jersey. There might not be another person in the crowd that’s needed Hunter as much.

“We’ve been very blessed to have (Hunter) in Robert’s life,” said Steve Hunt, Robert’s father. “A lot of kids, 18, 20 years old, are kids. They see someone with Down syndrome and say, ‘Well, he may be a nice guy but I’m not gonna hang out with him.’ Rob, in his own way, he feels the same way. He sees the differences between him and other kids with Down syndrome where he doesn’t necessarily connect with them.”

Robert is highly functioning for someone with his disability, which leaves him in a sort of societal no-man’s land, his dad said. He’s more intellectually developed than most people with Down syndrome, but he can’t hide the disability, his dad said.

Robert lives at home but works three jobs – an internship at a Cincinnati children’s hospital, busing tables at a pizza joint and calling out lineups and playing intro music at Turpin baseball games.

“I do a really good fifth-inning ‘Take Me Out To The Ballgame’,” he said Wednesday.

Robert is a man of the people, and doesn’t lack confidence. He also loves giving advice.

“He thinks he’s like the expert on girls or basketball or school, and he just wants to be involved with what I’m doing,” Hunter said. “He makes you realize the whole bigger picture of what we’re doing here with basketball but also just with life.”

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Robert has attended several Winthrop games, even dancing in the team’s huddle before the Rio Grande game in 2015. Brad Cupito, who coached Hunter and got Robert involved with the Turpin basketball program, said his team manager was more likely to be chatting with cheerleaders than toweling sweat off the floor.

Robert is loyal to his favorite players. When LeBron left Cleveland to sign with Miami (before his return to the Cavaliers), Robert swapped his Cavaliers gear for Miami Heat apparel. Hunter is another recipient of that unwavering affection. They video chat every Sunday.

“He’s so grateful for, like, the littlest things,” Hunter said. “In one day we’ll go to Chipotle, then we’ll go to the movies, probably go back to the house and play (NBA) 2K, and that whole course of six hours for him will be the best time of his life.”

Hunter skipped a Winthrop practice two years ago, flying home to Cincinnati so he could be at Turpin for Robert’s Senior Night. It meant everything to the Hunts.

“He made a commitment to be there and then him and his dad left after the game and drove, I’m not sure who they played, someone in Virginia, and they drove through the snow and the ice and it was horrible,” said Steve Hunt. “So, we’re gonna come see Hunter.”

A promising middle infielder, Hunter had college baseball opportunities but chose to walk-on with Winthrop basketball. Playing time has been sparse, which hasn’t always been easy for a competitive college athlete. But just like with Robert, Hunter has filled what would have been a void, providing leadership and irreproachable practice habits.

“It speaks I think to why he is such a great friend to Rob, because he is kind of a selfless guy,” said Steve Hunt.

Four years in Rock Hill have opened up future avenues for Hunter, who has a 3.5 GPA and will graduate with a financial planning degree. Cubito thinks he would be an excellent special education teacher if he chose that path. And as a member of Winthrop's scout team, Hunter has learned dozens of different opponents’ offenses in the last four seasons, essentially giving him a crash course in basketball theory.

“This is my passion, to play basketball,” Hunter said. “And I’ll never regret coming here because these four years with Coach Kelsey, with Coach Prosser and the guys, the connections that I’ve made and the level of basketball intelligence that I’ve personally gained from this, my passion for the game and coaching has now significantly increased. I really do think that could be something in my future that I could want to do.”

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Hunter should relish Senior Night just like Robert did. Hunter has played 81 minutes of basketball in four years at Winthrop. He was put on scholarship before his senior season but he’s only scored six career points and made just one field goal. He’s never started a game for the Eagles.

“The way I play in practice is what I’m gonna do in games,” he said. “My goal is I walk out of the game hopefully in the lead for whoever comes in next.”

Starting Thursday won’t change Hunter’s approach. He’ll still look for the extra pass and focus on minding his gap in the Winthrop defensive scheme. And if he scores, the Hunt family will go crazy, Robert especially.

“When he does score a shot,” said Robert, “the way I would like for him to celebrate is by coming over to me and doing our handshake that I make up.”

An eight-hour drive from Ohio to Rock Hill should give Robert plenty of time to invent something special. He’ll slide on his headphones, turn up Eminem and anticipate another Senior Night to remember.

This story was originally published February 22, 2017 at 5:27 PM with the headline "Hunter Sadlon’s No. 1 fan will be in the Winthrop Coliseum crowd on Senior Night."