The longer he was in a Celtics uniform this summer, the more one particular phrase was attached to second-round draft pick Brandon Hunter.

``He's going to play in this league, for someone.''

Celtics coach Jim O'Brien said it. Director of basketball development Leo Papile, Hunter's earliest booster, said it.

And finally Danny Ainge, the toughest sell of all, had to admit it as well. The director of basketball operations, who ultimately gave approval on the two-year contract that the 6-foot-7 Hunter signed yesterday, knew that someone was going to give the kid a job.

But the 22-year-old Ohio University alum, of course, knew that well before anyone.

``I was going to go to veteran camp with this team, no matter what,'' said Hunter, who will earn the rookie minimum of $366,931 this season, followed by a non-guaranteed one-year veteran's minimum of $620,046 during the 2004-05 season. ``I knew I was going to play in this league. I got three double-doubles in a row (during the Reebok Pro Summer League), so I knew that someone was going to be interested in me.''