R.J. Hunter has a plan for the ongoing NBA combine in Chicago to try to erase the checks against him.
It may sound counter-intuitive, but to try and ensure that he will be a first-round pick in June’s NBA draft, Hunter said he will do everything but scrimmage at the combine.
“My agent and I thought it would hurt us,” he said of Mark Bartelstein.
Instead, the former Georgia State standout will work out individually for from six to nine teams that need a 6-foot-6 guard.
That could be anyone from the Hawks to the Lakers, depending upon the different draft projections. Hunter said he is doing his best not to pay attention to any of them.
“No one knows how it’s going to go,” he said.
Instead, Hunter wakes up each morning in Chicago, where he has been working out, at 7:45 a.m. and is in the gym by 9. He has focused on improving his bench press and quickness, two of the three biggest checks against his game.
Hunter said he has added five pounds of muscle, which has improved his speed.
“I was quite pleased when I saw him the other day,” Ron Hunter, R.J.’s father, said after visiting his son last week. “I couldn’t believe how much stronger he looks.”
Ron Hunter said he doesn’t have any issues with R.J. Hunter’s strategy of participating only in the physical measurements and medical testing.
R.J. Hunter has also worked on his ballhandling in anticipation of being used as a combination point guard/shooting guard that is becoming the norm in the NBA. He said former Gonzaga standout Kevin Pangos has been teaching him the position.
Hunter rarely played the point in three seasons at Georgia State. Instead, he was often a shooting guard, where he set numerous school records as well as twice being named the Sun Belt men’s player of the year.
“I’m really excited to show people my ballhandling,” he said. “It’s come a long way in three weeks.”
The last check against him, his shooting, is one that Hunter offered no excuses for. Often the focus of opposing defenses, he shot a career-low 30.5 percent on 3-pointers last season. He averaged a career-high 19.7 points on a career-low 39.5-percent shooting.
His shooting touch hasn’t abandoned him.
ESPN’s Chad Ford tweeted that he thinks Hunter may become a lottery pick after watching him make 19 of 25 3-pointers during a workout earlier this week.
“I can improve on it,” Hunter said. “If I was at max, how beneficial would that be? I can improve on a lot of stuff.”
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