R. J. Hunter

Last updated
R. J. Hunter
R.J. Hunter and B.J. Johnson (cropped).jpg
Hunter with the College Park Skyhawks in 2020
No. 22–Greensboro Swarm
Position Shooting guard
League NBA G League
Personal information
Born (1993-10-24) October 24, 1993 (age 30)
Oxford, Ohio, U.S.
Listed height6 ft 5 in (1.96 m)
Listed weight185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High school Pike (Indianapolis, Indiana)
College Georgia State (2012–2015)
NBA draft 2015: 1st round, 28th overall pick
Selected by the Boston Celtics
Playing career2015–present
Career history
2015–2016 Boston Celtics
2015–2016→Maine Red Claws
2016 Chicago Bulls
2016→Windy City Bulls
2017 Long Island Nets
2017–2018 Rio Grande Valley Vipers
2018 Houston Rockets
2018→Rio Grande Valley Vipers
2018–2019 Erie BayHawks
2019 Boston Celtics
2019→Maine Red Claws
2019–2020 Türk Telekom
2020 College Park Skyhawks
2020–2021 Galatasaray
2021–2022 Sydney Kings
2023–present Greensboro Swarm
Career highlights and awards
Stats   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg at NBA.com
Stats   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg at Basketball-Reference.com

Ronald Jordan Hunter (born October 24, 1993) is an American professional basketball player for the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League. Hunter played college basketball for the Georgia State Panthers under the direction of his father and Georgia State head coach, Ron Hunter. There, he was twice named Sun Belt Player of the Year as well as the Sun Belt Conference Male Athlete of the Year. He holds the school record for most career points with a total of 1,819 after just three seasons of play. [1]

Contents

High school career

Hunter attended Pike High School in Indianapolis averaging 20.5 points, 6.6 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.9 steals per game as a senior. That year he led Pike to the Indiana State Championships, ending as a runner-up, and in the process earned All-Marion County First Team, a conference player of the year award and an Indiana All-Star mention. [1]

College career

Hunter played three seasons for Georgia State University under his father and head coach, Ron Hunter. After his junior season, he declared for the 2015 NBA draft.

Freshman season

Hunter recorded a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds in his collegiate debut against No. 8 Duke. He also scored 20 or more points 12 times during his freshman season, leading GSU in scoring 15 times. He earned Kyle Macy Freshman All-America honors, CAA Rookie of the Year, All-CAA First-Team and CAA All-Rookie Team after becoming the most prolific freshman scorer in Georgia State University history. Hunter finished the year with a school-record 527 points (17 PPG) and was one of just three freshmen in the country to average at least 17.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. [1]

Sophomore season

Hunter in 2014 R. J. Hunter 2014.jpg
Hunter in 2014

Hunter's trend of record setting continued into the rest of his career at GSU. Overall, he averaged 18.4 ppg, scoring 604 for the season and became the first Panther to make 100 3-pointers in a single season. That 3-pointer count was No. 16 in the NCAA. Hunter was excellent from the free-throw line, setting the school record in single-season average by hitting 88.2 percent (No. 1 percentage in the Sun Belt and No. 17 in the NCAA that season). As a part of that effort, he also set a school-record 38 straight free throws made. On defense, Hunter finished second in the Sun Belt and 49th in the NCAA with his 63 steals.

Many know Hunter from seeing highlights of his clutch buzzer-beater in the second round of the 2015 NCAA tournament, but hitting a shot like that was nothing new for him. In his sophomore year, Hunter scored a career-high 41 points against UTSA, making a school single-game-record 12 three-pointers. The 12 threes were also the most in the country during the year and set a new Sun Belt Conference record. In another game that year, he hit the game-winning shot with 11.1 seconds to play against Arkansas State. Another clutch shot came in a game in which Hunter scored 31 points including a crucial 3-pointer with seven seconds left at UT Arlington to send the game to overtime. [1]

Hunter was named Sun Belt Conference Basketball Player of the Year as well as the Sun Belt Conference Male Athlete of the Year. [2] He was also named the Men's Georgia College Player of the Year by the Atlanta Tipoff Club. [3]

Junior season

In his final season at GSU, Hunter averaged a career-high 19.7 points, scoring a school-record season total of 688 points (a school record he broke each season). He also averaged 4.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. In addition, he made 202 free-throws (No. 7 in the NCAA that year), second-most in school history, while swiping 75 steals, third-most in a single season in program history. The most noteworthy record he set was total career points. Midway through just his third season, Hunter overtook Rodney Hamilton's record of 1,515 points with a basket in front of a GSU home crowd against UL Lafayette on January 24, 2015. Hunter finished the year with a career total of 1,819 points.

The Panthers finished the 2014–15 season as the Sun Belt Conference regular season and tournament champions. With their Sun Belt Tournament championship win over Georgia Southern, the Panthers received a bid to the NCAA tournament. In the round of 64, No. 14 seed Georgia State trailed the No. 3 seed Baylor by 12 points with just 2:53 to play. Hunter took over and scored 12 of the Panthers' final 13 points, including a 30-foot 3-pointer with 2.6 seconds remaining to secure their electrifying come-from-behind upset win, which caused his coach (and father) Ron to fall off his stool in jubilation. The moment was selected as No. 2 in the NCAA's top 10 moments of the tournament, was included in the "One Shining Moment" montage following the championship game, [1] [4] and was one of three nominees for the 2015 Best Upset ESPY Award. [5]

Hunter was again named both Sun Belt Conference Basketball Player of the Year and the Sun Belt Conference Male Athlete of the Year. [2] R.J. was also the only player from a school in Georgia to be named to the Naismith Trophy watch list that season. [6]

College statistics

Season averages [7]
SeasonTeamGMINPTSREBASTSTLBLKFG%3P%FT%TO
2012–13 Georgia State 3133.517.05.11.81.70.8.439.365.7761.7
2013–14 Georgia State 3233.518.34.61.82.01.0.444.395.8821.2
2014–15 Georgia State 353719.74.73.62.11.0.396.305.8782.2
Career9834.618.44.82.41.90.9.426.355.8451.7

College records

Professional career

Boston Celtics (2015–2016)

On June 25, 2015, Hunter was selected with the 28th overall pick in the 2015 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics. [8] On July 27, he signed his rookie-scale contract with the Celtics. [9] After averaging just 2.8 points per game over his first eight NBA games, Hunter scored 12 points on 5-of-6 shooting off the bench against the Atlanta Hawks on November 24. [10] During his rookie season, Hunter received multiple assignments to the Maine Red Claws, the Celtics' Development League affiliate. [11] On October 24, 2016, Hunter was waived by the Celtics. [12]

Chicago Bulls (2016)

On October 27, 2016, Hunter signed with the Chicago Bulls. [13] He was waived by the Bulls on December 29, 2016, after appearing in three games. [14] During his time with Chicago, he had multiple assignments to the Windy City Bulls of the NBA Development League. [15]

Long Island Nets (2017)

On January 6, 2017, Hunter was acquired by the Long Island Nets of the NBA G-League. [16] Four days later, he made his debut for Long Island in a 120–112 loss to the Fort Wayne Mad Ants, recording 22 points, three assists and two steals in 25 minutes off the bench. [17]

Rio Grande Valley Vipers (2017–2018)

After failing to find a team to participate in training camp under the preseason, he would be assigned to the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the D-League on October 24, 2017. Hunter made his debut with the team on November 4.

Erie BayHawks (2018–2019)

On January 14, 2018, Hunter signed a two-way contract with the Houston Rockets. On August 18, 2018, Hunter was waived by the Rockets. [18]

On September 7, 2018, Hunter signed with the Atlanta Hawks. [19] On October 13, 2018, Hunter was waived by the Hawks. [20] Hunter was added to the training camp roster of the Erie BayHawks. [21] In his BayHawks debut, Hunter scored a game-high 34 points on 12-of-18 shooting in a win over the Grand Rapids Drive. [22]

Return to Boston (2019)

On January 10, 2019, Hunter signed a two-way contract with the Boston Celtics. [23]

Türk Telekom (2019–2020)

On June 27, 2019, Hunter signed with Türk Telekom of the Turkish Basketball Super League (BSL). [24]

College Park Skyhawks (2020)

On February 7, 2020, Hunter signed with College Park Skyhawks of the NBA G League (formerly D-League) and an affiliate of the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA. [25] He missed a game against the Greensboro Swarm on February 28 with an illness. [26]

Galatasaray (2020–2021)

On July 21, 2020, Hunter signed with Galatasaray of the Turkish BSL. [27]

Sydney Kings (2021–2022)

On July 23, 2021, Hunter signed with the Sydney Kings of the Australian NBL for the 2021–22 season. [28] On January 15, 2022, he was ruled out for the rest of the season after rupturing his left patellar tendon. [29] He was replaced on the roster. [30]

Greensboro Swarm (2023–present)

On September 29, 2023, Hunter signed with the Charlotte Hornets, [31] but was waived on October 21, prior to the start of the 2023–24 season. [32] Eight days later, he signed with the Greensboro Swarm. [33]

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GPGames played  GS Games started MPG Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage 3P%  3-point field goal percentage FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game APG  Assists per game SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game PPG Points per game Bold Career high

Regular season

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
2015–16 Boston 3608.8.367.302.8571.0.4.4.12.7
2016–17 Chicago 303.0.000.000–0.3.0.0.0.0
2017–18 Houston 519.0.350.2141.0001.0.6.6.03.8
2018–19 Boston 1026.0.462.400.5003.03.01.0.017.0
Career4518.8.371.295.8181.0.4.4.13.0

Playoffs

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
2016 Boston 508.2.222.200.0001.2.6.0.21.0
Career508.2.222.200.0001.2.6.0.21.0

Personal life

Hunter is the son of Ron Hunter and Amy Hunter, the youngest of two children. He and his older sister, Jasmine, are very close. [34] Hunter's godfather is 15-year NBA veteran Ron Harper. [1]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Pierce</span> American basketball player (born 1977)

Paul Anthony Pierce is an American former professional basketball player. He played 19 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA), predominantly with the Boston Celtics, and was inducted into the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in 2021. He was most recently an analyst on ESPN's basketball programs The Jump and NBA Countdown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joe Johnson (basketball)</span> American basketball player

Joe Marcus Johnson is an American former professional basketball player. Nicknamed "Iso Joe", he played high school basketball for Little Rock Central High School and college basketball for the Arkansas Razorbacks. After two years with Arkansas, he declared for the 2001 NBA draft where he was drafted 10th overall by the Boston Celtics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lindsey Hunter</span> American basketball player and coach

Lindsey Benson Hunter Jr. is an American former professional basketball player and coach. He played in the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1993 to 2010, spending most of his career with the Detroit Pistons. He was also the interim head coach of the Phoenix Suns in 2013. Most recently, he served as the head coach at Mississippi Valley State.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gerald Green</span> American basketball player

Gerald Green is an American former professional basketball player. He was drafted by the Boston Celtics with the 18th overall pick in the 2005 NBA draft. Known for his dunking skill, he has performed well in many slam dunk competitions, having won the 2005 McDonald's All-American Slam Dunk Contest and the 2007 NBA Slam Dunk Contest, while finishing as the runner-up in the 2008 NBA Slam Dunk Contest.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kris Humphries</span> American basketball player

Kristopher Nathan Humphries is an American retired professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played in the NBA for the Utah Jazz, Toronto Raptors, Dallas Mavericks, New Jersey / Brooklyn Nets, Boston Celtics, Washington Wizards, Phoenix Suns, and the Atlanta Hawks. Humphries played college basketball for the Minnesota Golden Gophers of the University of Minnesota, and for the United States men's national basketball team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wayne Ellington</span> American basketball player (born 1987)

Wayne Robert Ellington Jr. is an American professional basketball coach and former player who is a player development coach for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Known for his shooting ability, he was nicknamed "The Man With The Golden Arm". He played for the University of North Carolina from 2006 to 2009. He chose to forgo his final season of college eligibility to declare for the 2009 NBA draft, and was drafted 28th overall by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ron Hunter</span> American basketball coach

Ronald Eugene Hunter is an American college basketball coach and the current men's basketball head coach of the Tulane University Green Wave. His son, R. J. Hunter, was a first-round draft pick for the Boston Celtics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aron Baynes</span> Australian basketball player

Aron John Baynes is an Australian professional basketball player for the Brisbane Bullets of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for Washington State University before starting his professional career in Europe. In 2013, he joined the San Antonio Spurs, and a year later, won an NBA championship with the Spurs. He has also played with the Detroit Pistons, Boston Celtics, Phoenix Suns, and Toronto Raptors. Baynes also plays for the Australian national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jordan Crawford</span> American basketball player (born 1988)

Jordan Lee Crawford is an American professional basketball player for the Sichuan Blue Whales of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for the Indiana Hoosiers and the Xavier Musketeers. His brother is Joe Crawford, who has also played in the NBA.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Georgia State Panthers men's basketball</span>

The Georgia State Panthers men's basketball team represents Georgia State University and competes in the Sun Belt Conference of NCAA Division I. The Panthers play at the Georgia State Convocation Center in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jae Crowder</span> American basketball player (born 1990)

Corey Jae Crowder is an American professional basketball player for the Milwaukee Bucks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chris Babb</span> American basketball player

Chris Babb is an American professional basketball player for BCM Gravelines-Dunkerque of the French LNB Pro A and the FIBA Europe Cup. He played college basketball for Pennsylvania State University and Iowa State University.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014–15 Georgia State Panthers men's basketball team</span> American college basketball season

The 2014–15 Georgia State Panthers men's basketball team represented Georgia State University during 2014–15 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The team's head coach]was Ron Hunter serving his fourth season at GSU. The Panthers played their home games at the GSU Sports Arena competing as members of the Sun Belt Conference. They finished the season 25–10, 15–5 in Sun Belt play to win the Sun Belt regular season championship. They defeated Louisiana–Lafayette and Georgia Southern to become champions of the Sun Belt tournament. They received an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament where they defeated Baylor in the second round before losing in the third round to Xavier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jarell Eddie</span> American basketball player

Jarell Alexander Eddie is an American professional basketball player for U-BT Cluj-Napoca of the Romanian Liga Națională (LNBM). He played college basketball for Virginia Tech before splitting the first four years of his professional career in the NBA and NBA G League. Since 2018, Eddie has played in Europe.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Damion Lee</span> American basketball player

Damion Lee is an American professional basketball player for the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for four years at Drexel University and transferred to Louisville for his final year of eligibility. After going undrafted in 2016, Lee played in the G League before signing with the Atlanta Hawks in March 2018. He then signed a two-way contract with the Golden State Warriors the following season, winning an NBA championship with the team in 2022.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ryan Harrow</span> American basketball player

Ryan Harrow is an American professional basketball player for Béliers de Kemper of the LNB Pro B. Harrow finished his NCAA college career with the Georgia State Panthers, and is regarded as one of the greatest Panther basketball players ever. He plays the point guard position.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shawn Long</span> American basketball player

Shawn Long is an American professional basketball player for Osaka Evessa of the Japanese B.League. He played college basketball for the University of Louisiana at Lafayette and represented the United States at the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeremy Hollowell</span> American basketball player

Jeremy Hollowell is an American professional basketball player who last played for Merkezefendi Belediyesi Denizli Basket of the Turkish Basketbol Süper Ligi. Hollowell played college basketball for the Georgia State Panthers after a stop with the Indiana Hoosiers.

D'Marcus Simonds is an American basketball player. He played college basketball for Georgia State. He was named the 2017–18 Sun Belt Conference Player of the Year as well as the Georgia Men’s College Co-Player of the Year.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Max Strus</span> American basketball player

Max Strus is an American professional basketball player for the Cleveland Cavaliers of the National Basketball Association (NBA). Prior to the Cavaliers, Strus played for the Miami Heat and the Chicago Bulls. He played college basketball for the Lewis Flyers and the DePaul Blue Demons.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Player Bio: R. J. Hunter – Georgia State University Official Athletic Website". Georgia State Panthers . Georgia State University . Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  2. 1 2 "Georgia State's Father-Son Duo Headlines Sun Belt Conference Men's Basketball Honorees". Sun Belt Conference. March 11, 2014. Retrieved March 11, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Hunter Earns Atlanta Tipoff Club Honor". Georgia State University. March 12, 2014. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  4. ↑ Cooper, Sam (March 19, 2015). "Dramatic R. J. Hunter 3-pointer gives Georgia State upset over Baylor (Video)". Yahoo Sports. Retrieved March 19, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Best Upset Award Voting". ESPN . Retrieved June 25, 2015.
  6. ↑ "R.J. Hunter makes Naismith Trophy list". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution . December 3, 2014. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  7. ↑ "Men's Basketball Statistics". Georgia State Panthers . Retrieved May 28, 2015.
  8. ↑ "Celtics Select Rozier, Hunter, Mickey and Thornton in 2015 Draft". NBA.com. June 26, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Celtics Sign 2015 First Round Draft Picks Terry Rozier and R.J. Hunter". NBA.com. July 27, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  10. ↑ "Celtics vs. Hawks - Game Summary - November 24, 2015". ESPN.com. November 24, 2015. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  11. ↑ "All-Time NBA Assignments". NBA.com. Retrieved December 5, 2016.
  12. ↑ Snow, Taylor C. (October 24, 2016). "James Young Earns Celtics' Final Roster Spot". NBA.com. Archived from the original on November 8, 2016. Retrieved October 26, 2016.
  13. ↑ "BULLS SIGN R.J. HUNTER". NBA.com. October 27, 2016. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  14. ↑ "BULLS WAIVE RJ HUNTER". NBA.com. December 29, 2016. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  15. ↑ "2016-17 NBA Assignments". NBA.com. Retrieved December 7, 2016.
  16. ↑ "Long Island Nets Acquire R.J. Hunter". NBA.com. January 6, 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  17. ↑ "Alex Poythress' 28 Points Lift Mad Ants Over RJ Hunter, Nets". NBA.com. January 10, 2017. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  18. ↑ "ROSTER UPDATE: Houston Rockets General Manager Daryl Morey announced today that the team has waived guard R.J. Hunter". Houston Rockets on Twitter. August 18, 2018. Retrieved August 18, 2018.
  19. ↑ "Atlanta Hawks Sign R.J. Hunter". NBA.com. September 7, 2018. Retrieved September 7, 2018.
  20. ↑ "Hawks Request Waivers on Anderson, Hunter and Robinson". NBA.com. October 13, 2018. Retrieved October 13, 2018.
  21. ↑ Hartman, Billy (October 20, 2018). "Erie BayHawks Finalize 2018 Training Camp Roster". NBA.com. Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  22. ↑ Fernandes, Victor (November 2, 2018). "Hunter, BayHawks race past Drive in opener". Erie Times-News . Retrieved October 28, 2020.
  23. ↑ "Celtics Sign R.J. Hunter To Two-Way Contract". NBA. Retrieved January 30, 2022.
  24. ↑ "RJ Hunter says he signed with Turk Telekom Ankara". Sportando.com. Retrieved June 27, 2019.
  25. ↑ "College Park Skyhawks introduce former Georgia State hooper RJ Hunter as newest player". 11alive.com. Retrieved February 7, 2020.
  26. ↑ "R.J. Hunter: Misses Saturday's game". CBS Sports . February 29, 2020. Retrieved June 21, 2020.
  27. ↑ "Galatasaray signs R.J. Hunter". Eurobasket. July 21, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
  28. ↑ "RJ Hunter joins the Kings". SydneyKings.com. July 23, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
  29. ↑ "RJ Hunter to Miss Remainder of Season". NBL.com.au. January 15, 2022. Retrieved January 15, 2022.
  30. ↑ Winter, Brad (February 1, 2022). "Here come the Kings: Sydney look like NBL title contenders once more". PickAndRoll.com.au. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  31. ↑ "Hornets Sign R.J. Hunter And Edmond Sumner". NBA.com. September 29, 2023. Retrieved September 29, 2023.
  32. ↑ "Hornets Waive Brown, Hunter, Mensah". NBA.com. October 21, 2023. Retrieved October 24, 2023.
  33. ↑ "Greensboro Swarm Announce Training Camp Roster and Coaching Staff for 2023-24 Season". NBA.com. October 29, 2023. Retrieved November 5, 2023.
  34. ↑ Dortch, Chris (February 26, 2015). "Georgia State's Hunter could be ready for jump to NBA". NBA.com. Retrieved May 28, 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.