Two of Georgia State’s freshman basketball players said they don’t feel different, but they recognize that they may be different as their first college basketball season winds toward the last five games.
R.J. Hunter, one of the country’s top freshmen, looked noticeably different in Saturday’s loss at Towson. The same player who scored 38 points on 23 shots three games ago against Old Dominion, scored 15 but needed 26 shots (16 field goals, 10 free throws) in Saturday’s loss to Towson. Coach Ron Hunter said afterward that R.J. didn’t have the same lift in his jump shot.
Hunter explained that he thinks his first-year players are hitting the “freshman wall,” the point at which the difference in length, travel, practice and study requirements between college basketball and high school basketball accumulates.
“Throughout the season it gets kind of tiring,” R.J. Hunter said. “I don’t notice it during the game.”
Ron Hunter said having a fresh R.J. is important because he’s a vital cog in what they are trying to do. Hunter leads the team and is third in the Colonial Athletic Association with an average of 17.6 points per game as the Panthers (12-14, 7-6) prepare to host Hofstra (6-18, 3-8) on Wednesday at the Sports Arena.
“When he plays well, we win,” Ron Hunter said.
That converse was true on Saturday when R.J. Hunter missed eight of his nine 3-pointers to drop his shooting percentage to 43.8 percent. He said afterward that he was told by other players that he seemed a step slow, but he didn’t feel different. Ron Hunter said he actually noticed R.J. didn’t look the same even against Old Dominion. But he got hot in the second half of that game and rode it to one of the best performances of the season.
“I talked to him about it before Saturday’s game,” Ron Hunter said. “He said it began to wear on him a little bit. It’s the first time he’s gotten this type of media attention. I think it all started to catch up with him and he caught up to him on Saturday.”
R.J. Hunter is averaging 33.2 minutes per game. An average of six seconds – one-tenth of a minute - more and he would rank in the top-10 of minutes played in the Colonial Athletic Association. That can take a toll.
R.J. Hunter said he is working harder to take care of his body than he ever did at Pike High School in Indianapolis. He has concentrated on eating correctly, stretching, getting lots of rest and using the ice baths, something all of the players are taught.
Hunter isn’t the team’s only freshman. David Travers’ playing time has increased as Ron Hunter has grown more confident in his ability to play defense. Travers is averaging 7.1 minutes per game. That doesn’t seem like a lot, but he said that combined with other factors, such as playing teams twice and the more physical and quicker style of college basketball, can affect freshman as the season progresses.
Just like R.J., Travers said he doesn’t think he’s running out of energy.
“Personally , I don’t feel any different,” he said.
Ron Hunter said the season doesn’t just physically affect the freshmen, which includes T.J. Shipes, Markus Crider and LaRon Smith. Hunter said he also worries about their mental approach. To try to keep them sharp, Hunter said he has tailored the practices to make everything competitive.
Next week, he said he’s going to let the freshmen script the practices to try to keep them focused and not let fatigue take over.
“I’d really like to rest them a little bit more but we can’t,” Ron Hunter said.
About the Author
