PANTHER PROWL: GSU becomes a contender under Hunter’s guidance

One year ago the Georgia State men’s basketball team struggled to a 12-19 record and was bounced from the CAA tournament in the second round. After yet another poor season, Rod Barnes was let go as head coach and the Panthers brought in IUPUI coach Ron Hunter.

CH-CH-CHANGES …

Many wondered how much of a difference Hunter would make in his first year considering the Panthers would have the same core group of players in 2011-12 as they had in 2010-11. The Ron Hunter era got off to an inauspicious start as State dropped its first three games at the World Vision Classic in Seattle. But the Panthers came back from the tough start undeterred and refused to slip into mediocrity in rattling off 11 consecutive victories. This streak included an impressive road win over VCU, which were Final Four participants a year ago.

At 19-9 (10-6 CAA), Hunter has the Panthers on the verge of their first 20-win season since 2003-04, when they were members of the Atlantic Sun. Entering into his first season at Georgia State, Hunter said his goal was to, “change the culture…[make it] where when people look at the program they think about winning. The expectations are not in wins and losses, but for people to believe the culture has changed.”

Hunter is no stranger to success and cultivating a winning culture at a program. He spent 17 years at the helm of IUPUI, which started off as a Division II school and in his tenure became a successful D-I program, including an NCAA Tournament appearance in 2003. Hunter’s pedigree of taking a small program and taking it to heights previously unimaginable fit perfectly into Georgia State’s plans for its program.

The Panthers had enjoyed success in the Atlantic Sun including a trip to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in 2000-01. A perennial contender in the Atlantic Sun, they took on the challenge of entering the Colonial Athletic Association in 2005, one of the best mid-major conferences in college basketball, as evidenced by two separate Final Four teams in the past five seasons.

CONFERENCE UPGRADE …

Since entering the CAA, Georgia State had toiled in mediocrity, never producing a winning season until this year. Hunter has brought an incredible amount of energy to the sidelines, which has helped to revitalize the entire program. His energy has not been confined just to the basketball court. He has been relentless in recruiting and has what could be the school’s best class ever lined up for 2012, headlined by his son R.J. Hunter.

Hunter’s energy is contagious; the team can’t help but put forth tremendous effort because their coach wouldn’t allow anything less. Hunter never sits down and refuses to stop coaching no matter what the score is. This was exemplified last Saturday against UTSA. The Panthers were up double-digits late in the second half and they allowed an easy Roadrunner layup. Hunter called timeout and lit into his team in the huddle. His frustration was not in allowing a bucket, but the way they gave it up without resistance.

Hunter’s focus is always on improvement and this is part of his commitment to changing the culture of the team. He said that last year it seemed that “the guys were just going through the motions out there,” but this year he wanted to instill a passion for the game. “I don’t care what you do in life if you don’t have passion you can’t do it well,” Hunter said. “One thing we can control is how hard we play and that’s one thing I talked about is having passion for they game they love…basketball.”

Under Hunter, the Panthers have undergone a major culture change. They have swapped their losing habits for winning ones. They now have the ability to withstand runs by opponents and have the resiliency to come back from deficits. The Panthers have put a huge emphasis on improving defensively, led by senior center Eric Buckner and his dominance in the paint.

Buckner has demolished the school’s blocks record both in a single season and in a career, despite only being a Panther since last season. Along with Buckner’s presence in the middle, the backcourt rotation for the Panthers has become adept at trapping opponents and taking the ball away, leading to easy baskets in transition. As a whole the team has 266 steals and has accumulated 149 blocked shots, 98 of those by Buckner, and allows 59.3 points per game. Last year, the totals were 201 steals, 148 blocks and 64.1 points per game.

While steals and blocks have gone up, the Panthers have also cut back on fouls. They are averaging 16.2 fouls per game, compared to 21.2 last year, showing the commitment to playing tough, disciplined defense. Hunter attributes the change to players, “buying into the system.” The Panthers play a matchup zone in which they often full-court press their opponents and trap the ball-handler. Hunter said the defense could be defined as “organized chaos” and that the entire team has bought into his system and they put full effort into playing tenaciously on the defensive end of the floor.

Hunter has come in and done a remarkable job in making this team into a contender. The Panthers have shown the ability to compete and beat the best teams in the conference, and they will be a dangerous team in the CAA Tournament. Hunter has succeeded thus far in his goal of changing the culture around the program. Fans flock to the Sports Arena for home games with students and alumni filling the arena like never before. The average attendance for games at the Sports Arena is up to 1,378 per game, compared to just 915 a game last season.

While Hunter has been pleased by the early success, he is not satisfied. “The easiest part is to build a winner, the hard part is to maintain it, and that’s what I’ll start right after the first day of the offseason is to maintain that winning attitude.”

This constant drive to win and to succeed is what has made Hunter a successful coach, and it will be that drive that will continue to elevate the Panthers’ basketball program.