R.J. Hunter says he’s turning pro
Georgia State’s R.J. Hunter is turning pro.
He told his teammates Monday morning. He said he is going to sign with an agent in the next two weeks and he won’t return to school.
“I know I can do more, but at this point I feel like my time is up,” he said. “This team is so well off they don’t need me. It will be fun for them.”
R.J. Hunter, a 6-foot-6 guard, said he has heard he could be picked anywhere from the middle of the first round to the second round. Only first-round picks receive guaranteed contracts. Ron Hunter, R.J.’s father and Georgia State’s coach, said in feedback he has received Hunter could go anywhere from 11 to 25. Ron Hunter said how R.J. Hunter performs at the NBA combine in Chicago in May will determine where he gets drafted.
“It’s all so hard to tell because a lot of people haven’t come out,” R.J. Hunter said. “But I think I’m in a pretty good position.”
Hunter led the Panthers into the third round of the NCAA tournament after averaging 19.7 points per game. His 30-foot 3-pointer with less than three seconds left sent Georgia State past Baylor in the second round. Hunter scored of 12 of his team’s final 13 points to secure that win, just the school’s second in the NCAA tournament.
A junior, he is the school’s all-time leading scorer and the two-time Sun Belt men’s conference player of the year.
“From father’s perspective I couldn’t be happier,” Ron Hunter said. “He’s a great kid. All the things he’s receiving are so well deserved.”
Ron Hunter said that he had a sense after talking to R.J. Hunter last Wednesday that he was going to go pro. He said everything R.J. said in their conversation made sense, but he wanted to make sure that he was 100-percent committed to the decision.
R.J. Hunter said he made up his mind a week ago after looking at what the Panthers have coming back for next season.
Georgia State will return several players from the NCAA tournament team, including fowards Markus Crider, T.J. Shipes, Jordan Session and Jaylen Brown, and guards Kevin Ware and Isaiah Dennis. Jeff Thomas, who redshirted last year, will also be eligible. Two players who transferred, forward Jeremy Hollowell from Indiana and guard Isaiah Williams from Samford, will also be eligible. With R.J. Hunter’s decision, the Panthers have three scholarships available. Ron Hunter said he hopes to sign a point guard, a wing and a power forward/center.
“I think we are going to be really good,” Ron Hunter said. “The biggest concern is getting the new guys ready to play in the system.”
R.J. Hunter said he will finish the semester at school but will also begin working on the weaknesses in his game — ball-handling, defense and strength — in preparation for the combine. Much of that work will likely take place in a facility set up by whichever agent R.J. Hunter signs with. Ron Hunter said his son won’t sign with the agent that he thinks leaked the news of the decision to Yahoo, which first reported it.
R.J. Hunter told his teammates in a hastily called meeting in the lockerroom at the GSU Sports Arena Monday morning. He said his teammates were supportive.
“I broke down crying when I realized that I’ll never play with those guys again,” he said.
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