Ron Hunter was the only identifiable person who has worked in Georgia State athletics in the past several years, and now he’s gone. The man took an attention-starved, talent-bankrupt basketball program, which might as well have been a boarded-up motel sitting at the end of a dirt road, and quickly elevated it to one of the nation’s most charming NCAA Tournament stories — three times — and he was allowed to leave town.
Advertisement
I’m not suggesting Georgia State is not capable of hiring a competent replacement. But when an administration fumbles a situation as it has this one, it’s not creating much confidence for the future.
“I just wanted a long-term deal,” Hunter told The Athletic on Sunday. “So that’s on them. We could’ve had this thing done. I think they’re a little embarrassed right now, to be honest with you.”
Hunter, who led the Panthers to three Sun Belt Conference Tournament championships and NCAA Tournament bids in the past five seasons, has accepted a job at Tulane. One might ask: Why leave Georgia State for Tulane? Certainly, money is always a factor in career moves, and Hunter’s $550,000 annual salary will be doubled at Tulane. The Panthers also play in a one-bid conference (Sun Belt), while Tulane is in the basketball-richer AAC (which landed three teams in the NCAA Tournament field and one in the play-in game).
But if this was only about money and a better conference, Hunter’s exit would be easier to digest. It’s about more than that.
Hunter had one year left on his contract. Yes, one. He approached Georgia State officials about a long-term extension after last year’s second NCAA Tournament bid but was rejected. He coached this season through the anger but realized he probably wasn’t going to return, given other likely opportunities. Hunter said there were “three or four” schools that were interested, but Tulane had the most appeal and was by far the most aggressive.
Hunter loves Atlanta. He likely will keep his home here. He tried to “keep it positive” Sunday.
“My wife keeps telling me to take the high road,” he said.
But he couldn’t help himself at times. He said he went to athletics director Charlie Cobb after the 2017-18 season to ask for an extension. One never came. He said it got to the point in the fall when “my agent’s calls weren’t even being returned.”
Advertisement
Hunter said he “wanted to retire” in Atlanta. He wanted a long-term deal. Georgia State said no.
Tulane, where he never has coached a game, gave him a five-year contract with a possible rollover, a seven-figure salary, a retention bonus and incentives.
“I loved the fact that they really wanted me,” he said.
And Georgia State?
“I don’t know how we got to this point. I really don’t,” he said.
If the school gave him a long-term deal after last season when the Panthers made it to their second NCAA Tournament, would he have left?
“No,” he said.
It’s worth noting here: College coaches usually have at least four years on their contract for recruiting purposes. Otherwise, other coaches will use that against them. The buyout options vary widely, but a coach doesn’t want to walk into a recruit’s living room and attempt to explain why there’s only a year or two remaining on his contract.
“Generally in our business, if you have less than four years on your deal, you better be worried about getting fired,” Hunter said. “I had a conversation with Charlie, and he said, ‘We’ll get back to you with some details.’ I wanted to get going on it. I never even asked for (specific) money. I just wanted a long-term deal. I love Georgia State. When I went to them after the tournament last year, I just wanted a deal where I could retire here.”
The Athletic attempted to contact Cobb on Sunday, but a spokesman said the school would have no comment on Hunter’s departure until he was announced by Tulane.
Hunter’s hiring will be announced Tuesday. The fact he sent thank yous and goodbyes from his Twitter account Sunday and openly would talk to media members makes it odd that Georgia State wouldn’t consider that official enough.
I want to thank the GSU community for all you have done for me and my family. This was a tough decision but I’m excited about the future. I hope we left GSU in a better place than it was before we arrived . I can’t tell u how much I will miss Atlanta and my GSU family. God Bless
— Ron Hunter (@coachrhunter) March 24, 2019
Hunter again on negotiations: “I said to them, ‘Just give me something.’ That was in November. My agent’s phone calls weren’t even being returned after a certain point. So I don’t want to get into that.”
Advertisement
When the season started, Hunter said he wanted to table contract talks to focus on the season. But he knew then this probably would be his final year, and Hunter said, “They knew that also. They knew I was upset. I’m not going to hide that. I was upset that I didn’t get a contract extension after going to the NCAA Tournament. I’m still upset by that. I don’t know a coach in the country who goes to the NCAA Tournament and doesn’t get a contract extension. So they can hide that all they want, but that’s strictly on them.”
Georgia State had seven straight losing seasons before Hunter arrived in 2011 and had made it to the NCAA Tournament only twice in its existence — 1991 under Bob Reinhart and 10 years later under Lefty Driesell. Driesell had five straight winning seasons, including going 29-5 in 2001, but the program fell off after that. Hunter most famously reached the NCAA Tournament in 2015 when he suffered a torn Achilles while celebrating a Sun Belt title win, followed by an NCAA first-round upset of Baylor.
He’ll take over a Tulane team that went 0-18 in the AAC and 4-27 this season under Mike Dunleavy. The Green Wave haven’t made it to the NCAA Tournament since 1995 when they played in the Metro Conference.
Hunter was so excited about the potential at Tulane that when he sat down with a group of school officials and boosters for the first time at a Buckhead restaurant Saturday night, “I couldn’t even eat because I was talking so much. I was hungry when I went to bed. I feel really comfortable. It’s just like I did when I got the Georgia State job, and thought I was going to win. I’m going to win there, and I’m going to win big.”
There’s no reason to doubt him. The same can’t be said for the program he’s leaving.
(Photo: Brett Rojo/USA Today)
ncG1vNJzZmismJqutbTLnquim16YvK57l3FscG1pZH9xfZhoZ2xnYml8tK%2FHrqOtsl2dwq%2FAxKtkrqijmsFus8SoqaChkWLAta3TnmSwp6Whsa%2FAjKCgr51dnbauecuopaBlpJq%2FrnnDnpilZZ6kxG60xKxkoKeemnw%3D