Ron Hunter departs Georgia State for Tulane

After the Georgia State Panthers fell to the Houston Cougars 88-54 Friday evening in the first round of the NCAA tournament, speculation of Panthers head coach Ron Hunter’s future at Georgia State began to percolate.

According to Jeff Schultz of The Athletic, Hunter has thought about leaving after not receiving an extension in October 2018 (see tweet below).

Sunday, Hunter has a signed a contract to takeover the Tulane Green Wave men’s basketball program. This season, the Green Wave which finished 4-27 this season and were winless in American Athletic Conference (AAC) play.

Hunter leaves Georgia State program in which he was 171-95 in eight seasons as head coach. During his tenure, the Panthers reached the NCAA tournament three times (2015, 2018, 2019). It was during the NCAA tournament in 2015, where Hunter became a national sensation. In their 2015 NCAA tournament matchup against Baylor, Hunter’s son R.J. drained a game winning three pointer to upset the Bears 57-56. After injuring his Achilles in the Sun Belt tournament a week before, Hunter fell off of his rolling stool in celebration of the winning shot.

Panthers Athletic Director Charlie Cobb, faces the tall task of replacing Hunter and maintaining a winning tradition at Georgia State. Hunter departs along with five seniors, among them three starters that include Devin Mitchell, Jeff Thomas and Malik Benlevi and junior D’Marcus Simonds who plans on foregoing his senior year for the NBA Draft.

Hunter will be introduced as Tulane’s head coach Tuesday at noon.