Visit with Hunter Thompson for any length of time, and one thing becomes perfectly clear
He's like a lot of other Wyoming people.
He's genuine.
There's no pretense about this Pine Bluffs native.
What you see, and what you hear is what you get.
Thompson has been in the Wyoming basketball program for six years. In the history of Cowboy hoops,l, nobody, but he, and his best friend Hunter Maldonado, can say that.
In fact, sometimes I have to stop and think a moment when weren't those two wearing the brown and gold.
It was 2017!
Fans have another opportunity to watch them tomorrow night when the Pokes host Louisiana Tech at 7 p.m. in the Arena-Auditorium.
Following Wyoming's highly-successful season of a year ago, Thompson could have moved on. He and Maldo experienced a lot of hard times together during their first three seasons as Cowboys. There were injuries, and plenty of losses. Still, even with the success of the past two seasons, wasn't five years enough?
"Obviously the season we had last year gave us a different taste in my mouth," Hunter says. "It was so much fun. I wanted to experience that again. I wanted to get back to March Madness. I wanted to win a championship. When I came here, my plan wasn't to be around six or seven years, he chuckles. "But I love to compete, I love playing in the Double A, and I wanted to get my masters. All of those factors brought me back."
He's on his way to that academic goal, and once the Cowboys become whole (when injuries heal) there's a good chance the other goals will fall into place as well.
Hunter is earning his masters in Health Administrative Services. "It basically gives me a broad pharmaceutical overview which I needed for my grad school application. My end goal is to be a physical therapist. I'm interested in the human body and its recovery. PT is what I've always wanted to do"
What we know about Hunter Thompson is that he's a great teammate. He's a big, likeable sort who gets along with everybody. It would be hard not to like him.
He credits who he is to being raised in a small town. Pine Bluffs is a community off of I-80 on Wyoming's southeastern edge. It's right on the Wyoming-Nebraska border with a population of just over 1,000. It was originally known as the "Frontier Crossroads" because it was an area where the cattle trails crisscrossed. It continues with that name today as the modern "trails" of the Union Pacific Railroad, U.S. highway 30, and I-80 passing through.
"You're sheltered in a small town," Hunter says. "You are sheltered from a lot of things that bigger city kids have to experience. You have friends and neighbors that if you're out of milk you go across the street or next door and get it. On Christmas Day just about the whole town gets together. I've never known any other way.
"If you are in athletics everybody cares about you. I think when I decided to come to Wyoming, the whole town was excited about it. To this day, I love to see people in the stands from Pine."
Hunter was a highly-sought-after recruit out of Pine Bluffs High. Schools like Colorado and Creighton wanted him.
"I'm so happy I finally decided to come here," he says. "I think if I was in a state with multiple schools it would still be cool to remain in the state. But when the state has just one university, well, that makes it something different, something very special. This is a special place to me. I think about the feelings and the moments I've had here, and I'll always cherish them. It's still special to me. I love playing home games, seeing friends I grew up with and knowing most of the people there are Wyoming people like me."
It hasn't been without its adversity, however. "I was taught that there will be adversity. It's your response to that adversity that counts. I was taught that if you keep your nose to the grindstone, and stick with it, it'll be great on the other side. Believe me, Maldo and I had three years of misery, but we traded all that for last year's success, and there's still more to come."
His friendship with Maldo had a very interesting evolution. "I didn't think much of him when we first came to school," Thompson admits. "We were very opposite of one another. He was ultra-competitive and I was a little more laid back. But we went through some very tough times together. I was hurt as a true freshman and he was playing. Then he was hurt the next season, and I was playing. Plus we weren't winning. When you go through tough times together, it brings you closer. He gave me a great perspective on being an ultimate competitor, and I think I gave him a little different perspective. We forged a special bond by going through what we did together. Besides, they say opposites attract.
"We love to joke and tease with each other. I tell him that when we are finally done here, he'll probably 'big-time' me and won't remember who I am. But it's a very real friendship, and we've shared experiences that we will never forget."
When he thinks about it, Thompson almost can't believe that he's been a Cowboy basketball player for six years. "I know that being at a school for six years is rare. I wouldn't have stayed if I didn't think I could be a contributing member of the team. I know Maldo feels the same way. I think we can give the coaches and our younger players a good perspective on the program. But I do ask myself, 'where have six years gone'.
"I think I've matured into a smarter guy, but with a lot sill to learn. There are lots of life lessons out there. I've grown to be much more independent. Coach Linder has taught me a lot. He taught me that I had another gear I didn't even know I had. He taught me to play harder, and give more than I ever thought I could. He changed my mindset. That alone has made it worth staying around."
There was little doubt that Hunter would be in athletics. His mother, Wynema, was a collegiate All-American in volleyball, and a Hall of Famer. She also played basketball. His dad, Todd, was a high school coach.
"My mom is a huge sports fan, and loves to travel. Ever since I was a little kid she has always been there to watch me play. I've always appreciated that, and will never forget it."
When you grow up in a small town you end up playing a lot of sports, if for no other reason than to make sure there are enough bodies on the roster. He was quite a split end on the football team for example. Can you imagine a 6-10 wide receiver!
"But I was around basketball the most because my dad was the high school coach. I fell in love with it, and knew it would be my future."
I always like to ask each student-athlete I'm interviewing if there is something that we'd like to know about them that nobody knows. Thompson's answer was simple: "I've been around so long I'm pretty sure people know everything about me."
We do know he is an outdoorsman, who loves to be with his family. "I'm probably a better hunter than I am fisherman, but I love them both," he admits. "I love being in the outdoors because it's so relaxing. Someday I'd like to be as good at fly fishing as Linder is. I've been doing it since a senior in high school, but I think he's been doing it all his life. We've been out together, and I love watching him. He's taught me a lot about it, but I have a long way to go."
After taking to Hunter, I thought about that at the end of this season Thompson and Maldo won't be suiting up for the Cowboys anymore. That will be a sad day.
