Photo credit: Georgia State Athletics
Release from Georgia State Athletics:
Georgia State junior R.J. Hunter has been named a finalist for the Lou Henson Award as announced by CollegeInsider.com earlier this week. This marks the second year in a row Hunter has been named a finalist.
The Lou Henson Award is presented annual to the top mid-major play in Division I college basketball. The finalists for the award also represent the Lou Henson All-America team. The award is named in honor of Lou Henson who retired after a spectacular coaching career that lasted 41 years.
Hunter led the Panthers to a second-straight 25-win season while repeating as Sun Belt Player of the Year. He averaged a team-high 19.7 points per game, pulling down 4.7 rebounds and dishing out 3.6 assists per contest. Hunter shot 87.8 percent from the free throw line and made 80 3-pointers.
After making the game-winning free throws to secure the Panthers a win over Georgia Southern and a Sun Belt tournament title, Hunter provided more heroics in the second round of the NCAA tournament. With No. 14-seed Georgia State trailing No. 3 Baylor by 12 with2:53 to play, Hunter led a furious comeback that included a 13-0 run, 12 of which were scored by the junior and a 30-foot 3-pointer with 2.6 seconds remaining to give the Panthers their second NCAA tournament win in program history.
“As a father and a coach, I’m proud to see R.J. earn this recognition,” head coach Ron Hunter said. “He had a tremendous season for our program and I am glad to see him recognized for his hard work on and off the court.”
Hunter, who was an AP All-America honorable mention honoree last season, has earned first-team all-conference honors three-straight seasons, including the last two years in the Sun Belt.
The 2015 recipient will be announced at the CollegeInsider.com Awards Banquet on April 3 in Indianapolis, site of the 2015 men’s NCAA Basketball Championship.
The Sports Inquirer 
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