Georgia State’s R.J. Hunter to forgo senior season, enter NBA draft

ATLANTA — Georgia State junior R.J. Hunter has announced that he will forgo his senior season of college to enter the NBA Draft and sign with an agent.

The two-time Sun Belt Player of the Year has earned nearly every recognition possible during this three seasons with the Panthers. He capped his career by leading the No. 14-seeded Panthers to a 57-56 win over No. 3-seed Baylor in the second round of the NCAA tournament, just the 20th 14 over 3 in tournament history. Hunter hit a 30-foot 3-pointer with 2.6 seconds remaining to cap an incredible 12-point comeback in the final three minutes of the game.

Hunter became the third Panther in program history to earn AP All-America honorable mention recognition last season. He is currently a finalist for the Lou Henson Award given to the top mid-major player in the country. The junior has earned three-straight first-team all-conference honors, the only player in program history to accomplish the feat.

“My decision was extremely difficult,” Hunter said. “When it’s your time, it’s your time and I believe in my heart that it is time for me to go. If they needed me at Georgia State next year it would have made my decision more difficult, but I know that this program is in great hands.”

Hunter led the Panthers to a second-straight 25-win season this year after averaging 19.7 points, 4.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. Hunter shot 87.8 percent from the free throw line and made 80 3-pointers.

He finishes his career as the all-time leading scorer in program history with 1,799 points. Hunter is also tops in Georgia State history in 3-pointers made, 3-point attempts, free throw percentage, free throws made and free throw attempts.

The NBA Draft is set for June 25 in New York.