Report: Georgia State's R.J. Hunter to declare for NBA draft
Georgia State guard R.J. Hunter hit a shot so big it forced his father and coach to fall out of his seat on the bench. Now he'll look to wow at the NBA level.
The 6-foot-5, 185-pound junior will reportedly enter the 2015 NBA Draft, according to Adrian Wojnarowski of Yahoo Sports.
Hunter, who averaged 19.7 points, 4.7 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.1 steals, was the catalyst to one of the NCAA tournament's biggest underdog stories. His game-winning 3-pointer with just three seconds remaining helped the No. 14 Panthers top No. 3 Baylor during the Round of 64, getting Hunter and father a great deal of national attention.
That's because the game-winning shot hilariously caused his father, Ron, the team's head coach - already in a cast after tearing his Achilles in the Sun Belt Conference championship - to topple out of his chair.
The 21-year-old Hunter closed out his season on quite a roll, scoring 36 points in two NCAA tournament games. As was the case all season long, Hunter's shooting percentages suffered thanks to the immense defensive pressure he faced as the Panthers' lone scoring option.
Hunter shot 39.5 percent for the year and 30.5 percent from outside, down significantly from his respective 44.4 and 39.5 percent marks from 2013-14. In declaring for the draft, Hunter seems certain that NBA scouts will look past the percentages given his situation, something that doesn't seem like too big a leap given his considerable potential as a shooter and scorer.
DraftExpress currently ranks Hunter as the No. 25 prospect in the draft while ESPN is more optimistic, ranking him 20th.