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Is Georgia State’s R.J. Hunter the Most Important SG In College Basketball?

By DJoumbarey A. Moreau

Feb 16, 2013; Fairfax, VA, USA; Georgia State Panthers guard R.J. Hunter (22) looks to pass in front of George Mason Patriots guard Bryon Allen (0) during the first half at Patriot Center. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 16, 2013; Fairfax, VA, USA; Georgia State Panthers guard R.J. Hunter (22) looks to pass in front of George Mason Patriots guard Bryon Allen (0) during the first half at Patriot Center. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-USA TODAY Sports /
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Is Georgia State’s R.J. Hunter the most important SG in college basketball?

Where in the world would society be without a pen? Pens are always useful. They can write notes, they let us communicate and they grant us the ability to visibly think and organize.

Watching one of my favorite movies, The Wolf of Wall Street, I once heard someone say “sell me this pen” and it opened up my eyes to how something so small gets looked over, and how important the little things in life are.

Just like the scene in The Wolf of Wall street, not having a pen and attempting to write is almost impossible. For Georgia State, not having their shooting guard R.J Hunter would leave them in a world of trouble because they would become irrelevant from the NCAA Tournament talks.

Even though on the grand scale of college basketball Georgia State is relatively small, their team is going to have a huge impact later in the year and this will ruin someone’s 2015 NCAA Tournament chances thanks to Hunter.

Feb 16, 2013; Fairfax, VA, USA; Georgia State Panthers guard R.J. Hunter (22) looks to drive past George Mason Patriots guard Sherrod Wright (10) during the first half at Patriot Center. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 16, 2013; Fairfax, VA, USA; Georgia State Panthers guard R.J. Hunter (22) looks to drive past George Mason Patriots guard Sherrod Wright (10) during the first half at Patriot Center. Mandatory Credit: Rafael Suanes-USA TODAY Sports /

Anyone can choose to look over Hunter if they’d like to, but when March comes around we’re going to see how important his game is to Georgia State.

With that being said, I ask “Is Hunter the most important shooting guard in the country? What other shooting guard in the NCAA has to dominate for his team to win games?

In the major power conference schools, teams can make the tournament if they have an awesome resume and a great body of work. In the case of Hunter’s Georgia State team they have a difficult road to glory, but they have the talent to make the trek. Three games into the year Georgia State has a 1-2 record and will have to have a 20-win season and win the Sun Belt Tournament to get an automatic bid into the 2015 NCAA Tournament.

Last year we didn’t get to see Georgia State in the NCAA Tournament because of the outcome of the 2014 Sun Belt Championship.

Holding on to a nine-point lead with three minutes to go, the top seeded Georgia State team saw their lead diminish thanks to the current Orlando Magic and former Louisana Lafayette point guard Elfrid Payton. In the last minutes of the game, Payton went off late and helped the Ragin’ Cajuns force overtime. Payton also sealed the game in overtime with up with a clutch steal and coast to coast finish to extend the lead with less than a minute.

After his hearbreak last year Hunter looks hungrier than ever and is posting the best numbers of his career. Through the first three games Hunter is averaging 21.3 points, 3.7 rebounds, 5 assists and 2.7 steals per game, with career highs in points, assists and steals.

In addition Hunter is shooting at an incredible clip. Hunter might as well get some ink on his right arm of a baby’s bottom because the jump shot that he possess is way too smooth. His true shooting percentage is 55 percent and he’s making 41 percent of his three-point attempts, also a career high.

If anyone thinks the man is a fluke than think again. The basketball world already knows about him. In the last two years Hunter has already been invited to the Nike Elite LeBron James Camp for the top 30 players in college basketball, as well as the Kevin Durant Camp for the top 15 wings in college basketball.

Here are some of his accomplishments in first two years at Georgia State:

  • He holds the record for the most three pointers made in a game with 12.
  • He was on the Freshman All-American team in 2013.
  • He earned All-American Honors in 2014.
  • As a Sophomore he won the Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year.

Hunter may not bleed ink like pens do, but he bleeds basketball. Basketball has been in Hunter’s blood since he’s been a child. Hunter is the son of the head coach of Georgia State, Ron Hunter and his godfather is the former Chicago Bulls point guard Ron Harper.

Hunter’s on the right path to becoming one of the best in college basketball and may find himself playing professional basketball. It’s only suiting that on his highlight tape he’s got Drake’s “Draft Day” playing as his theme music, he should get the call come June, when or if he decides to leave school.

If the basketball world already knows about Hunter, consider it the perfect time to get to know about him too.

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