Brandon Huntley-Hatfield has made a habit of giving Instagram followers a peek inside his mind before he steps on the court.

The apex predator he chooses to embody is a game-day decision.

Sometimes, the Louisville men's basketball junior big man shares photos of a lion with blood-stained fur. On one occasion, it was Heath Ledger as Joker in "The Dark Knight."

His favorite is Bane. Specifically, Tom Hardy's take from "The Dark Knight Rises."

"No matter who got in the crosshairs, his only objective was to complete his mission," Huntley-Hatfield said. "I feel like that's the mindset I have to have coming into these games — to dominate my opponent, to take everything that (I've) worked for."

The Cardinals (8-23, 3-17 ACC) are one loss away from failing to complete their mission in 2023-24. Barring a miraculous run at the ACC Tournament, starting at 4:30 p.m. Tuesday against No. 10 seed N.C. State in Washington, D.C., Year 2 under head coach Kenny Payne will go down as another disaster — and possibly his last at the helm of his alma mater.

After losing to Syracuse on March 2, Huntley-Hatfield said the players, not the staff, were to blame for the program's second-worst season in modern history. But he hasn't been the problem; he's been a problem for opposing teams.

"He is kicking everybody's tail that he comes across," Virginia Tech head coach Mike Young said.

The 6-foot-10, 240-pound native of Clarksville, Tennessee, has emerged as one of the ACC's best in the post, which may be remembered as the crowning achievement of Payne's historically dreadful tenure.

"He's been an enforcer," Payne said. "I think he's proven that he's one of the most improved, if not the most improved (in the ACC)."

His progression isn't surprising when you consider Huntley-Hatfield was a top-five recruit in the Class of 2022; but the journey to actualizing his full potential wasn't easy.

"Brandon is trying to overcome a lot of hurdles," Payne said. "A lot of self-doubt."

'Trained to kill'

Bobby Maze drove three-and-a-half hours from Knoxville to Clarksville to watch Huntley-Hatfield play for the first time. The 14-year-old was as good as advertised in the highlight reel that caught his attention on Instagram.

"He had tons of potential," said Maze, a former Tennessee guard who grew up in the Washington, D.C., area with the likes of Kevin Durant, Michael Beasley and Louisville assistant coach Nolan Smith. "He needed to get the proper exposure."

After the game, Maze approached Huntley-Hatfield and his family and told them, if he played for his AAU team on the Under Armour circuit over the coming years, he could be one of the country's most sought-after talents.

Huntley-Hatfield accepted the offer.

He's dreamt of NBA stardom since age 3, when his grandfather first handed him a basketball. He grew up idolizing his older brother, Roger, who played collegiately at Chattanooga. They were so dedicated to the game that their father would get them up at 4 a.m. to train at a local YMCA before school.

Partnering with Maze meant spending summers in Knoxville honing his craft. Huntley-Hatfield said that's where he laid the foundation for "the player I am today."

"I was trained to kill whatever's in front of me," he said. "'I'm not here to play with you;' that's what he's instilled in me."

The extra work paid off. In a 2019 evaluation, former 247Sports director of basketball recruiting Evan Daniels tabbed Huntley-Hatfield as a potential "one-and-done" player. By the end of his junior season at Scotland Campus Prep in Pennsylvania, he had skyrocketed to No. 3 on the website's Class of 2022 rankings.

Had he not opted to enroll at Tennessee a year ahead of schedule, Maze said, "we wouldn't even be having this conversation right now."

"A lot of people don't understand," he later said, "how hard it is to walk in his shoes."

'Growing pains'

Between COVID-19 eligibility rules and the NCAA transfer portal, college basketball has become an older man's game.

"Look at a lot of these top freshmen around the country," Maze said. "How many of them are really coming in and dominating?"

Huntley-Hatfield was not one of them.

After foregoing a shot at reaching McDonald's All-American status, he appeared in all 35 of Tennessee's games during the 2021-22 season and started the final 13. The Volunteers went 27-8 and won the SEC Tournament, but he averaged only 3.9 points and 2.9 rebounds across 12.6 minutes per contest.

Two words best encapsulate his time in Knoxville: "growing pains."

"I got better as the year progressed," Huntley-Hatfield told The Courier Journal upon arriving at Louisville ahead of the 2022-23 campaign. "But I wasn't comfortable; I wasn't really confident."

Reflecting on that time in his life two years later, Huntley-Hatfield said, "I felt like I was put in a box." He's not bitter about it, though, because the experience was essential in his maturation process.

"I always thought, 'Oh, I'm good. I'm playing on instinct — just playing my game,'" he said. "'If I'm a top guy, what can you really criticize me about?'"

Huntley-Hatfield decided to hit the portal after Tennessee's second-round NCAA Tournament exit. When he did, he was 247Sports' eighth-best player available.

He considered Auburn, Arizona State, SMU and Wake Forest but chose Louisville, in large part, because of the bond he formed with Payne. They hit it off at a time when Huntley-Hatfield admittedly wasn't "trusting with anybody."

Payne, he said, asked him to be honest about what he wanted to get out of basketball. He told him about his NBA aspirations and how he needed to reclaim his confidence to get to the league. The first-year head coach committed to helping him reach his goals.

"I owe him everything for that," said Huntley-Hatfield, who on April 24, 2022, became Payne's first U of L pledge.

'Alpha mentality'

Huntley-Hatfield prides himself on being the first player in the gym. He's usually joined by a fellow holdover from the 2022-23 team, redshirt sophomore Mike James.

Count James, along with Payne, among those who think the big man is worthy of being named the ACC's most improved player.

"When you're consistent like that, the results are going to show," James said earlier this month. "I'm just happy for him and proud of him for staying consistent in the gym and then staying consistent on the court; because I've seen it for two years."

It didn't translate to a winning season, but the jump he's made in Year 2 of working with Payne and his staff has been significant.

Huntley-Hatfield is one of just seven ACC players to rank among the conference's top 20 in scoring and rebounding during league play. Eight of his 10 career double-doubles have occurred this season; and when he notched three in a row back in December, he became the first Louisville player to do so since 2019.

During summers on the AAU circuit, Maze molded Huntley-Hatfield into a perimeter-minded player who was more accustomed to initiating the offense and shooting 3-pointers than he was setting up on the block. That came up last month, when Huntley-Hatfield was asked to explain how he leveled up this season.

"For so long, I was fighting how I was going to play in college," he said. "I thought I was going to be on the perimeter most of the time, basically just playing how I wanted to play. But that wasn't the case."

Payne needed a traditional big. It took Huntley-Hatfield a while to adjust, but, when he did, he realized not many of his opponents in the paint also possessed the skills Maze taught him.

"It's just about adopting that alpha mentality," he said. "I do whatever I can for us to win."

'Continue to grow'

The next step in Huntley-Hatfield's development is simple.

"Now, he’s a legitimate big-time college basketball player," Payne said. "He has to see himself in that light; and he has to continue to grow and not be settled (with), 'OK, now I’ve arrived.' (He needs to say), 'There’s more for me to get.'"

This is, however, where things get complicated. Because, in all likelihood, Louisville will have a different head coach next season.

Huntley-Hatfield said he doesn't look at "the negativity" surrounding the team on social media. But the reality of the situation is impossible to ignore.

First, there was the chorus of boos fans rained down on the Cards after they fell to Arkansas State at home back in December. Then, there was the time when someone walked by him at one of the city's malls and said, "Kenny Payne is getting fired."

"I don't know what you want me to say to that," he said after recalling the interaction. "It has nothing to do with me."

Except it does. Huntley-Hatfield has thrived under Payne's guidance, which he attributes to the coach's ability to communicate with him "like a college kid."

"Him pouring into me is something that I'll always be grateful for and something that I need going forward in my development (considering) where I want to go in my life," he said after losing to Kentucky in December.

Huntley-Hatfield could no doubt take an even greater step toward reaching the NBA if he sticks around and Payne's successor gets the program back to its winning ways. The question is, would he want to after someone replaces the man he calls a second father?

An answer is coming. Maybe he stays; maybe he reenters the portal; maybe he tests the professional waters before doing one or the other.

No matter what happens, he's trying to live by Maze's best advice: "Enjoy the process."

Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville basketball: Brandon Huntley-Hatfield bright spot for Payne