I love this breakdown by a scout from the Russillo article on grantland today. This and Peltons love for him makes me want to find a way to get Hunter.
"Not a special shooter. He’s good because he makes free throws, and that’s a barometer for me. If you can make them, it’s a sedentary shot, and it speaks about your stroke. You have time and you are compact. There’s a routine and a rhythm. Make free throws, you can make shots. Here is an example: [Georgia State’s] R.J. Hunter, I think, shot 87 percent from the free throw line [.878] and 29 percent from 3 (.305). That was this year, but in the past he was better. So we are like, This guy can make shots. For whatever reason, he didn’t. But I’m not going to discard him as a shooter, because his stroke is too good.
We watched Hunter in a workout, and we were like, This guy can really ****ing shoot. Then you watch tape and you are like, Man, why did he take that shot? I get that the shot-clock-ending shot, you got to ****ing take that one, but 10 seconds left and you are squeezing one? You are like, Hmm. You’d have to ask him and watch tape with him. Ask him what he’s doing.
I’ll never forget Ray Allen telling a story. You have no idea how hard it is to attempt 20 shots in a game. Try to get 20 quality shots? It’s impossible, no way. When you are the featured player, you are defended differently. Your goal in a game should be getting something he called “free looks” on wide-open shots, and make six of them, knowing that the other 12 are going to be contested, and they are so ****ing hard to make. You might go ****ing 3-for-12 or 4-for-12, but if you go 6-for-8? OK, now you are 9-for-20 or 10-for-20, and you’re whole again. So, on the night, you are 3-8 on your free looks and then 3-for-12 on your contested ones, then you have those ****ing horrible shooting nights."