'One of the best': Ex-NBA power forward, Withrow High graduate Brandon Hunter dead at 42

Cincinnati Enquirer

Brandon Hunter, a former NBA player and Withrow University High School standout, died on Tuesday. He was 42.

MARCH 2, 1999: Withrow's Brandon Hunter jams the ball against Loveland late in the fourth quarter of their sectional semifinal at the Shoemaker Center.

While his cause of death remains undisclosed, Hunter's mother-in-law, Carolyn Cliett, told NBC News that the player collapsed during a hot yoga session in Orlando.

A Cincinnati native, Hunter graduated from Withrow in 1999.

'Sad day':Former NBA player Brandon Hunter dies at age 42

He was a star forward for the Ohio University Bobcats' basketball team from 1999 to 2003, where he was a four-year letter winner. He earned All-Mid-American Conference Freshman Team honors in 2000 and was a three-time All-MAC First Team honoree from 2001 to 2003.

"One of the best to ever put on the green and white," Jeff Boals, Ohio University head men's basketball coach, said in a Tuesday post on X, formerly Twitter, about Hunter's death.

"Brandon had an infectious personality that touched many people along his journey and will be truly missed," Boals added in a statement Wednesday afternoon.

Hunter went from Ohio University to a two-season stint in the NBA, being the 56th overall pick in the second round of the 2003 NBA draft. He first played for the Boston Celtics before joining the Orlando Magic for the 2004-2005 season.

Withrow 2017 Athletic Hall of Fame inductee and former Ohio University Bobcat basketball standout Brandon Hunter (Class 0f 1999) is honored at halftime of a game between Withrow and Glen Este. Michael Noyes for the Enquirer

He continued to play basketball internationally in Greece, Italy, Israel and Turkey, before eventually returning to the Cincinnati area to pursue careers in real estate and sports management, according to a 2017 profile of Hunter by WCPO-TV.

"I initially wanted to go into coaching. But with my background and everything that I learned about the collective bargaining agreement in the NBA and the transactions I’ve seen while living abroad, the understanding of how teams recruit and how different styles are in different countries, I decided to go into management. I thought it would be where I would blossom and be the best,” Hunter told the station.

Hunter was inducted into the Withrow Athletic Hall of Fame in 2017 and Ohio University's Kermit Blosser Ohio Athletics Hall of Fame last year.

He is survived by his wife, Mary, and three children.