Georgia State Basketball: R.J. Hunter Named Sun Belt Athlete-of-the-Year

ATLANTA — Coming off one of the most remarkable seasons in Georgia State history, sophomore R.J. Hunter was been named the Sun Belt Male Student Athlete-of-the-Year. He was honored on Tuesday evening at the annual Sun Belt Conference spring meetings.

The award caps a year in which he was recognized as an AP All-America honorable mention, just the third in program history, and garnered Sun Belt Player of the Year honors after leading the Panthers to 25 wins, a conference championship and an appearance in the Postseason NIT.

Hunter also earned All-Sun Belt First Team honors, was named to the NABC All-District 24 First Team and was honored as the Atlanta Tipoff Club Georgia College Player of the Year. He was also a finalist for the Lou Henson Award as the top mid-major player in college basketball.

The sophomore scored a team-high 18.3 points per game, pulling down 4.6 rebounds per contest and making a school record 100 3-pointers. He finished the season among the top-10 in a single-season in Georgia State history in points, steals, 3-point field goals, free throws made and free throw percentage.

“As a coach, I am honored that one of my players could receive such a high honor,” head coach Ron Hunter said. “As his father, I am so proud of his accomplishments. He had a great year on the court and I look forward to what he is able to accomplish in the future.”

During his sophomore season, Hunter scored his 1000th career point in just 55 games, the second quickest to reach the milestone in Georgia State history. He is on pace to break the school scoring record in the middle of the 2014-15 season.

Hunter scored a career-high 41 points on a school and conference record 12 3-pointers in December at UTSA. The 41 points are tied for the fourth most in program history and the 12 3-pointers were the most in the NCAA last year.

He finished the season with 604 points scored, tied for the fourth most in a single-season in program history. Hunter finished among the top-25 in the NCAA in 3-point field goals made, 3-point field goals per game, free throw percentage and 3-point field goal attempts.

He also led the Sun Belt in free throw percentage and was fourth in scoring during his sophomore year.

Hunter will be one of three starters to return to the Panthers starting line-up for the 2014-15 season.