For a few minutes in the second half of Georgia State’s victory over Hofstra on Wednesday, coach Ron Hunter had three freshmen on the floor and one of them wasn’t his son and All-American candidate R.J. Hunter: David Travers, Markus Crider and LaRon Smith.
Ron Hunter gave the credit for the 61-43 win to that trio.
“Their energy coming off the bench was incredible,” he said.
Georgia State can’t participate in the Colonial Athletic Association tournament because of its pending exit from the league. So, there’s a chance that Hunter may elect to play as many as four freshmen at the same time, something that he’s done twice already, as he begins to gauge what he may have for next season. That evaluation period could start with the Panthers’ (13-14, 8-6) game at George Mason (15-10, 8-5) on Saturday and continue on Monday at William and Mary.
Before the season, Hunter said he never wanted to play more than two freshmen at the same time. So why is he playing as many as four? The answer is a combination of confidence and adaptability.
Travers’ minutes have steadily increased throughout the season as Hunter has grown more confident in his defense.
“That was stressful for me at the beginning,” Travers said. “I watched more film and practiced more and learned the defense.”
On offense, the point guard has seven turnovers in his past 170 minutes played. He had one in 17 minutes against Hofstra. Travers is averaging 1.7 points and 7.4 minutes per game.
“Seven turnovers, that’s crazy,” Ron Hunter said.
Crider said he doesn’t feel like a freshman because he spent a year at a preparatory school before enrolling at Georgia State. His minutes have increased because he’s able to play a variety of roles and because of the benching of Denny Burguillos in January.
Though Crider is 6-6, he is often matched up against centers, something that he enjoys.
“It’s different,” he said. “I’m agile. I don’t want to say I’m the strongest person on the team or on the court, but I know I can play with those 6-9 guys.”
He is averaging 3.2 points and three rebounds in 15.2 minutes per game.
Smith has been the most interesting freshman this year. Smith never played the first month of the season, presumably because Ron Hunter was going to redshirt him.
Suddenly, Hunter said Smith would start playing, something that Smith said surprised him. He came in for a three-minute stretch against Southern Poly on Dec. 8 and then sat again for eight games.
“It’s one of the most difficult times in my life basketball-wise,” he said. Smith said “everything was on the table” when asked if he considered transferring.
Because of Burguillos’ situation and the fatigue of the season, Hunter stretched his bench and Smith started playing again, culminating with his 14 minutes – one off his season high -- against Hofstra. Smith had one of the defensive plays of the game, sprinting down the floor to block a layup attempt against the Pride.
“They are getting, getter and better and better,” Hunter said. “If those guys are getting better, just think how much better our program will be.”
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