Hunter is taking aim

WALTHAM -- This is all you need to know about Brandon Hunter: After the first start and best game of his young NBA career, the rookie forward returned to the Celtics' practice facility at 11:30 Wednesday night. He spent an hour shooting free throws. He put up another 500 free throws at practice yesterday. All of this because the one blemish in Hunter's outing was his 5-for-12 performance from the line. There was no desire to celebrate career highs in points (17), rebounds (9), and minutes (35).

"I have a pretty good work ethic and I hate losing," said Hunter. "I have a problem with losing and I have a problem with not performing. I think with anybody in basketball, the corporate world, whatever it may be, when you put a lot of work into something, you want to see something come out of it. I put too much into my game to shoot 5 for 12."

A disciplined work ethic combined with an ultra-competitive attitude more than makes up for whatever Hunter may lack in size. He is officially listed at 6 feet 7 inches, 260 pounds. But his thick, muscular build makes him appear shorter and stockier. Hunter's size, however, makes him a formidable presence in the paint. So far, he has provided the Celtics with some much-needed toughness and rebounding.

Interim coach John Carroll described Hunter as "Barkley-esque" in build. Hunter likes the comparison.

"Barkley [6-6, 252 pounds] was smaller than me," said Hunter. "He played hard. He was real aggressive. He was strong, athletic. Every guy I'm playing is 2 or 3 inches taller than me every night. So, I've got to use my body and my strength and my conditioning to maneuver in the paint. I've got to be strong and explosive. And that's what Barkley was. Night in and night out, he just outworked guys, backed guys down, went at them every night. That's definitely the mentality that I want to bring."

Hunter also brings a natural instinct for rebounding that was polished during two seasons at Withrow High School in Cincinnati and four years at Ohio University.

The forward got a late start in basketball because baby-sitting his two younger sisters precluded participation in any after-school activities during his freshman and sophomore years of high school.

Although the Celtics drafted Hunter last summer at No. 56, they were not exactly sure what they had until Wednesday night. Carroll said yesterday that Hunter and Jiri Welsch will remain in the starting lineup for tonight's game against Toronto along with Paul Pierce, Chucky Atkins, and Mark Blount.

"If you watched the game [Wednesday] night and you watch it slowly, you'll see that Brandon does little things like preparing his body, sliding into guys' bodies in gaps, so that when the ball goes on the glass, he has position on people," said Carroll. "And there's certain guys who just don't want to play against him. You look at his body, his legs, his upper body. He looks Charles Barkley-esque in his body and he's a very difficult guy to have to deal with. I can't imagine if he can continue to play at a high level what he could be like in two or three years down the road."

Not bad for a second-round selection.

"I don't think there were 55 guys better than me," said Hunter. "I was picked 56th. That's why I wear that number. Three or four years down the line, everybody [will say], `Yeah, he was the 56th pick.' I almost didn't get drafted. Then, it was like you're going to the Boston Celtics, and they very rarely keep second-round picks. I didn't care about any of that. I knew I could play." . . .
Pierce sat out practice to rest a sore left hip, but promised he would be back for tonight's game . . . Michael Stewart missed practice with a sore throat.