Hometown 3-point champion was met with boos. Why former Indiana guard 'likes it that way'
A former Lawrence North star, CJ Gunn looked in confusion at the reaction of the Hinkle Fieldhouse crowd. All he could do was laugh, though.
INDIANAPOLIS — CJ Gunn wasn't sure why everyone was so worked up. The DePaul senior — and proud Indianapolis native — had just won the men's 3-point shooting contest at the College Slam Dunk & 3-Point Championships on Friday at Hinkle Fieldhouse. But upon further review, the title-clinching shot was still in his hand at the buzzer.
Boos rained down as the replay ran on the jumbotron and intensified when the feed switched to Gunn, who started his career at Indiana , sporting the champion's gold chain as he stood by for his post-round interview. "I'm from Indiana. I don't know why everybody was booing me like that," the 2022 Lawrence North graduate laughed afterwards.
That seemed a little harsh for the hometown kid, eh? "Yeah, yeah. I like it that way, though, man.
" The less-than-welcoming reception to his 3-point title aside — to be clear, Gunn was having fun with it — the 6-foot-7 guard could not have asked for a much better way to close out his college career: Back in his hometown, just a few miles from Lawrence North High School where he was a record-setting Indiana All-Star and led the Wildcats to a Class 4A state runner-up finish in 2021. Gunn was DePaul's leading scorer in his two seasons and appeared in 54 games (44 starts) as a Blue Devil, averaging 13 points (832 total) on 41. 4% shooting.