The Sports Inquirer

Release from Georgia State Athletics:

Georgia State junior guard R.J. Hunter has been named a finalist for the 2015 Atlanta Sports Awards Collegiate Athlete of the Year presented by AT&T as announced by the Atlanta Sports Council Tuesday.

The Atlanta Sports Awards will be held at The Fox Theatre on Thursday, March 5, beginning with a silent auction and reception at5:30 p.m. followed by dinner and the awards ceremony at 7 p.m.

Hunter is one of three finalists for the award. He is joined by Georgia Tech men’s golfer Ollie Schneiderjans and Kennesaw State baseball player Max Pentecost.

Hunter was named 2014-15 Sun Belt Preseason Player of the Year following a sophomore season in which he earned AP All-America Honorable Mention recognition and was a finalist for the Lou Henson Award as the top mid-major player in the country.

This season is he averaging 19.9 points per game, second in the conference and 14^th in the nation, pulling down 4.6 rebounds and dishing out 3.8 assists per game. Hunter has knocked down 64 3-pointers and is shooting 86.3 percent from the free throw line. He has led the Panthers to a 19-8 record, including a 12-4 mark in Sun Belt play which has put the Georgia State in a tie for first-place with four games to play.

He has already been named Sun Belt Player of the Week twice this season and will be among the favorites for Sun Belt Player of the Year once again this season.

Despite being just a junior, Hunter set the career scoring record in Georgia State history earlier this season. He also owns the career-records for free throws made, free throw percentage and 3-point attempts. He is the leader in the NCAA among all active juniors in career points scored, 3-pointers and 3-point attempts.