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R.J. Hunter profile
Drafted #28 in the 2015 NBA Draft by the Celtics
Height: 6'6" (198 cm)
Weight: 185 lbs (84 kg)
Position: SG
High School: Pike High School (Indiana)
Hometown: Indianapolis, IN
AAU: D3 Heat
College: Georgia St
Current Team: Greensboro
Win - Loss: 19 - 31
RJ Hunter 2015 NBA Draft Workout Video

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R.J. Hunter Workout Video and Interview

DraftExpress
DraftExpress
Jun 01, 2015, 01:28 pm
An interview with Georgia State's R.J. Hunter featuring footage from his pre-draft workouts in Chicago.

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Interview and video footage courtesy of Tad Hathaway of 312 Media.

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2015 NBA Draft Combine Measurements Analysis

DraftExpress
DraftExpress
May 13, 2015, 06:15 pm
-R.J. Hunter: The George State scorer measured 6'4.5 with a 6'10.5 wingspan and a slender 185-pound frame. He's a bit heftier than a young Jamal Crawford, who measured 6'4.5 without shoes with a 6'10 wingspan and a 175-pound frame way back in 2000. Hunter's length gives him quite a bit of positional flexibility and will be very attractive to NBA teams when considering his outstanding shooting stroke and ability to pass the ball.

R.J. Hunter NBA Draft Scouting Report and Video Breakdown

Jonathan Givony
Jonathan Givony
Mike Schmitz
Mike Schmitz
May 05, 2015, 03:45 pm
Scouting Report by Jonathan Givony. Video Analysis by Mike Schmitz

Underrecruited out of talent-rich Indianapolis, and thus electing to play for his father, the head coach at Georgia State, R.J. Hunter did not take very long to show he can play at any level of college basketball. He won Freshman of the Year and was named a first-team All-Conference player, before winning back to back Sun Belt Player of the Year honors as a sophomore and junior and leading his team to an NCAA Tournament berth.

Hunter and his father (who tore his Achilles celebrating the Conference tournament championship) were responsible for some of the best moments in the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament, taking down Baylor in a very memorable game, before bowing out with a loss to Xavier. After accomplishing quite a bit at the college level, and helping his father establish a great platform at Georgia State, Hunter elected to move on to the pro ranks, which makes sense considering he turns 22 later this year.

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Hunter has good size and length for a NBA shooting guard prospect, standing 6-5 in shoes with a very long 6-9 ½ wingspan. He has a lanky frame that should continue to fill out in time, but is still very underdeveloped, tipping the scales at just 180 pounds in the summer of 2014. Athletically, he is very smooth and fluid, but doesn't stand out with extraordinary speed or explosiveness.

Hunter's biggest appeal as a NBA prospect revolves around his outside shot, even if that's far from his only strength at the moment. He has deep range extending well beyond the 3-point line, and can make shots in a variety of ways, be it off spot-ups, coming off screens, or pulling up off the dribble. Hunter's release point is somewhat low, which would be more of an issue if he didn't get his shot off as quickly as he did. His mechanics are smooth and compact, complete with terrific footwork and a pretty follow-through, and he sets his feet and shoots it all in one quick, effortless and aesthetically pleasing motion.

Hunter's percentages as a jump-shooter were nothing to write home about over the course of his college career—he made just 35% of his 3-point attempts at Georgia State and 30% as a junior. He shows great confidence and aggressiveness as a shooter, though, hitting some deep and incredibly difficult looks that only real snipers do. That, combined with his mechanics, the huge volume of 3s he attempts (over 7-attempts per game), and his sparkling percentages from the free throw line (89% as a junior) lead you to believe that he'll find a way to develop into a very dangerous shooter in the NBA, particularly when he's drawing less attention from defenses than he did as a marked man every night for Georgia State. If he doesn't, he will certainly have problems.



Hunter supplements his shooting prowess with some impressive passing ability too. He has good court vision and a solid feel for the game, allowing him to contribute to his team's ball-movement and find teammates for easy baskets. He posted an assist on a solid 20% of his possessions, compared to a minimal 11% turnover percentage, which bodes well for his ability to play a complimentary role. He showed some increasingly slick passing out of the pick and roll as his career moved on, as well as in transition or attacking closeouts, utilizing his excellent footwork and ability to change speeds.

This was a positive development for his draft stock, as Hunter is not particularly explosive or the most prolific ball-handler in terms of his ability to create his own shot against a set defense in the half-court. He struggles to get by defenders purely with his first step, often relying on his off-arm to fend off opponents, and struggling in turn to get all the way to the basket and finish in the paint among traffic due to his average explosiveness.

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Hunter converted just 47% of his shots inside the paint this season, a mediocre rate for any college player, but especially one from the Sun Belt, which is considered one of the weaker conferences in the NCAA. He tends to shy away from contact around the rim, as he lacks not only strength but also a degree of toughness, causing him to settle for tough floaters, which he hit at a middling rate (9/34 on the season).

Despite his unimpressive percentages (49% 2P%, 30% 3P%) from the field, Hunter was able to remain reasonably efficient offensively thanks to his ability to get to the free throw line at a strong rate (7.2 attempts per-40). It's doubtful that he will be able to get to the line at the NBA level at the same rate, so it will be imperative for him to become more consistent with his outside.

Just as important will be Hunter's defense, which will likely play a major role in his ability to carve out a serious role for a good NBA team. On one hand he has excellent length (6-9 ½ wingspan), which, combined with his solid lateral quickness and excellent anticipation skills and feel for the game, gives him a chance to develop into a solid option on this end of the floor. He was a real playmaker at the college level, generating a huge amount of steals (2.3 per-40) and blocks (1.1) for a player at his position, which is usually a very good sign.

On the other hand, a lot of this had to do with the amount of zone Georgia State plays, which allowed him to roam around, gamble at times, and make plays all over the floor. Playing zone exclusively for three years in college is not ideal from an NBA standpoint, where he'll be forced to learn an entirely new style of defense, with all the many principles, concepts and coverages that go along with that, and Hunter's slender 180-pound frame could make it difficult for him to contain bigger and stronger players. Considering he turns 22 before the NBA season begins, it will be interesting to see how much his frame can continue to fill out over the next few years.

Hunter did not have a great junior season statistically, which saw his draft stock stagnate somewhat, but he finished on a relatively strong note advancing to the NCAA Tournament Round of 32, and plays arguably the shallowest position in this draft class, which should help him quite a bit. Many teams around the NBA are looking for shooting guards who can stretch the floor, pass the ball and be competitive defensively, so as long as Hunter can ease the concerns around his surprisingly low 3-point percentages and show he can adequately guard his position during the pre-draft process, he should easily find a spot for himself in the first round.

R.J. Hunter vs Iowa State Video Analysis

Mike Schmitz
Mike Schmitz
Feb 27, 2015, 11:01 am
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Top NBA Prospects in the Non-BCS Conferences, Part 1

Mike Schmitz
Mike Schmitz
Oct 28, 2014, 10:43 am

Mike Schmitz is the video analyst for DraftExpress. Follow him on twitter and check out the DraftExpress video section. He will be breaking down the NBA draft in digital format all year long for us.

Top NBA Prospects in the Non-BCS Conferences, Part Five: (#21-25)

Derek Bodner
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Joseph Treutlein
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Kyle Nelson

R.J. Hunter left high major offers on the table to play for his father at Georgia State University, but few expected him to emerge as his team's best player and the Colonial Athletic Association's Rookie of the Year, all while being named to the All-CAA First Team.

Hunter struggled in games against Duke (10 points on 4/11 FG) and BYU (7 points on 2/9 FG) early on, showing that he has a lot of room to grow against high-level competition, despite his impressive freshman season. Now a sophomore, Hunter is no longer flying under the radar and NBA scouts will be watching to see if he is capable of taking the next step in his development as a prospect.

At 6'5 and 185-pounds, Hunter has average physical tools for a NBA shooting guard, as he lacks ideal length, strength and explosiveness. Yet, while he is not a standout athlete, he possesses deceptive quickness, showing solid agility off the dribble and body control in transition.

Yet, Hunter is best known at this point in time for his scoring ability, averaging 20 points per-40 and ranking as the the fifth most prolific freshman in our database last season, while using 25% of Georgia State's overall offensive possessions. He played a significant role and showcased impressive versatility as a shot creator at this stage in his development.

Ultimately, however, 73.2% of his overall field goal attempts were jump shots, of which he made a solid, though unspectacular 37%. When coupled with his 36% 3P%, it would seem as though he is a decidedly average jump shooter. Yet, a closer look reveals that Hunter made 39% of his catch-and-shoot. In these situations, he shows fluid mechanics, solid elevation, and a quick release with range out to the NBA three point line.

Hunter's lack of efficiency stems from his propensity for taking off the dribble jumpers, something he's capable of doing with reasonable effectiveness, showing the capacity to create space for step back and pull up jump shots both inside and outside of the arc. While his ball-handling ability is far from elite, he has a few moves, particularly a crossover and step back, which are particularly helpful for him to create shots off the dribble, where he makes a decent 35% of these attempts.

Furthermore, he is a very adept shot creator out of the pick-and-roll, both for himself and his teammates. As a shooter, he does a very good job of using his size and savvy to see over screens, either hoisting up a long jumper or attacking the lane off of the dribble. Perhaps most impressive about Hunter's freshman season was the fact that he played under control, showing solid patience and shot selection, as well as instincts as a distributor. While nobody will mistake him for a point guard, his abilities as a shot creator out of the pick-and-roll is another intriguing aspect of his versatile skill set.

While he lacks ideal quickness and does not get to the line at a standout rate (5.2 FTA per 40 minutes pace adjusted), he was reasonably effective when he did create scoring opportunities inside the paint, converting on an impressive 59.7% of his overall attempts around the basket. Likewise, he was solid in transition, compensating for his average athleticism by weaving in and out of defenders on his way to the basket while always being a threat to launch a floater or pull up for a mid-range jumper.

On the defensive end, Hunter shows some solid tools and undeniable limitations in Georgia State's 2-3 zone. The biggest issue here is his combination of average lateral quickness and length, which will undoubtedly result in issues against better competition. That being said, he does a good job of staying aggressive and remaining involved on plays even after he is beaten, crashing passing lanes (2.1 steals per 40 minutes pace adjusted), hustling on the boards (6.1 rebounds per 40 minutes pace adjusted), and even blocking one shot per 40 minutes pace adjusted.

On the other hand, he is not the most fundamentally sound defender, either. He often finds himself out of position, getting sucked into the lane chasing steals and has a tendency to struggle to close out on perimeter shooters as a result. He also misses his fair share of rotations, as well, though it is worth pointing out that Georgia State's team defense, in general, left much to be desired.

It is worth repeating, however, that Hunter is still young and has already shown quite a bit in a starring role during his freshman season. Unfortunately, for the second straight year, he will have few opportunities to prove himself against elite competition in Georgia State's weak out of conference schedule. Even so, Georgia State should be a contender in the Sun Belt Conference championship right away, and the conference features some solid backcourts that will test Hunter on both ends of the floor.

The addition of well-traveled point guard transfer Ryan Harrow should also help Hunter's case, allowing him to play exclusively off of the ball while providing yet another scoring option in Georgia State's perimeter attack. Nevertheless, R.J. Hunter is still probably a ways away from hearing his name mentioned as an immediate NBA prospect, even though another standout season will ensure that, at the very least, he stays on scouts' radars.

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