Hunter adds four in first recruiting classginia

Before his first season as Geor­gia State's men's basketball coach, Ron Hunter spent the summer on the recruiting trail seeking to bolster the roster.  The Panthers originally had one scholarship available until the unexpected departures of Javonte Maynor and Harold Doby from the program. Hunter and his staff even­tually rounded out their first recruit­ing class by adding four perimeter players, including one walk-on.  "I think every coach would love to have eight or nine scholarships when we come in but I like the kids that we have here," Hunter said of his first recruiting class. "In a short period of time we were able to get a good mix." Tony Kimbro Jr., a 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Louisville, Kentucky is the most highly touted member of Hunter's first recruiting haul. He was also the first signee of Hunter's Georgia State tenure and was on Hunter's radar since he was head coach at IUPUI. Hunter joked that despite recruiting Kimbro while at IUPUI, Kimbro never even took a campus visit until Hunter accepted the Georgia State job. Hunter believes Kimbro has to improve his jump shooting but praised his passing and finishing ability. Assistant coach Everick Sulli­van, who joined the staff after serving as an assistant at Eastern Kentucky, was pivotal in Kimbro's recruitment after playing at Louisville in the mid-80's with Tony Kimbro Sr.. Hunter's inroad into recruiting in Kentucky, a state rich in basketball talent, is not an aberration. "We're going to recruit the Midwest as well as recruit Atlanta," Hunter said of his recruiting pipe­line. "It's just a little harder now because when you first walk in the door, just like any place you have to go in there and prove yourself." In late August, the men's basket­ball team also added Kevin Shaw, a 6-foot-2 combo guard, who averaged 22 points per game in his senior sea­son at Seneca High School in Louis­ville. Coach Sullivan also recruited Shaw while he was an assistant at Eastern Kentucky. Hunter also added 6-foot-7 ju­nior small forward Manny Atkins, who will not be eligible to play until 2012 because of NCAA transfer rules. Before Atkins took his talents to Vir­ginia Tech, he averaged 24.6 points and 11.5 rebounds per game and led Tucker High School to a second state championship in his senior season. Atkins averaged 4.9 points in 13 min­utes per game during his sophomore season. One of Hunter's final additions was walk-on freshman guard Tyler Gamble. The 6-foot-2 Gamble aver­aged 14 points and seven assists per game as a senior at Commerce High School. Hunter remarked that the Pan­thers' mediocre shooting numbers from last season were behind his reasons for recruiting Gamble and Atkins. "We've got good shooters but we want great shooters," said Hunter.  This spring, the Panthers also earned their first commitment for the 2012 class from another great shoot­er. R.J. Hunter, the head coach's son spurned offers from Virginia Tech, Iowa and Wake Forest to play for his father in 2012. The lanky, 6-foot-5 swingman is considered one of the best shooters in the state of Indiana and will remain there for his senior year of high school. Hunter has another philosophy in regards to the type of players he recruits.  "As long as I'm at Georgia State, you'll hear me say this a lot. I want kids who know how to play and un­derstand the game," Hunter said. "We're far from where we want to be but we're definitely headed in the right direction."  The Panthers will find out what direction that is on Nov. 15 when their regular season begins in Seattle, Wash. at the Basketball Travelers In­vitational.