 | |
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Tulane |
| Conference | The American |
| Record | 89–88 (.503) |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | (1964-04-07)April 7, 1964 (age 60) Dayton, Ohio, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1982–1986 | Miami (OH) |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1987–1993 | Milwaukee (assistant) |
| 1993–1994 | Miami (OH) (assistant) |
| 1994–2011 | IUPUI |
| 2011–2019 | Georgia State |
| 2019–present | Tulane |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 534–402 (.571) |
| Tournaments | 1–4 (NCAA Division I) 0–1 (NIT) 1–1 (CBI) 1–2 (CIT) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Summit League tournament (2003) Summit League regular season (2006) 3Sun Belt tournament (2015,2018,2019) 3Sun Belt regular season (2014, 2015, 2019) | |
| Awards | |
| 2×Summit League Coach of the Year (2003, 2006) Sun Belt Coach of the Year (2014) | |
Ronald Eugene Hunter (born April 7, 1964) is an Americancollege basketball coach and the current men's basketball head coach of theTulane UniversityGreen Wave. His son,R. J. Hunter, was a first-roundNBA draft pick for theBoston Celtics.
Hunter attended and played forChaminade Julienne High School inDayton, Ohio from 1978 to 1982.
From 1994 to 2011, Hunter served as the head coach atIUPUI.[1] Under his direction, the team advanced from anNAIA program toNCAA Division I. In its third season as a Division I program, Hunter led IUPUI to its first, and thus far only,NCAA tournament appearance in2003.On January 24, 2008, Hunter coached a game againstOakland University while barefoot. He did this to benefitSamaritan's Feet, a foundation that works to provide hope and love to impoverished children around the world by washing their feet and giving them a new pair of shoes. His goal was to collect 40,000 shoes; however, before tip-off, over 110,000 pairs of shoes had been donated.[2]
On March 21, 2011, it was announced Hunter would replaceRod Barnes as theGeorgia State Panthers' men's basketball head coach.[1] During his first season at GSU, Georgia State won 22 games, the fourth most in school history.
Hunter captured national attention for a moment that occurred in the2015 NCAA tournament. After tearing hisAchilles celebrating the Panthers'Sun Belt Conference tournament championship, he was forced to coach their subsequent NCAA appearance while sitting on a rolling stool due to his injury. In their second-round game against the three seed,Baylor, Hunter's son R. J. hit a deep, game-winning three with seconds left on the clock. When the shot went in, Hunter's stool slipped out from underneath him while exuberantly celebrating, sending him tumbling to the floor while continuing to display his jubilation. The moment spurred atorrent of media attention and resulted in multiple features, interviews, and a spot in 'One Shining Moment' at the conclusion of the tournament.[3]
On November 20, 2017, in a win over Eastern Washington, Hunter earned his 400th career win.[4]
Ron Hunter has played a key role in the ongoing transformation of the athletics culture at Georgia State, particularly with the basketball program and their continuing ascension from being one of the most unsuccessful programs in NCAA Division I history to being one of the premier Mid-Major programs in the nation. Some of Ron Hunter's most notable wins as head of coach of Georgia State are: VCU (2011),[5] #16 Baylor (2015), Georgia (2018)[6] and Alabama (2018).[7] Hunter also notched a win against crosstown foe, Georgia Tech, in a 2017 charity exhibition known as the 'A-Town Showdown for Hurricane Relief'.[8]
On March 24, 2019, Hunter was named the head coach atTulane, replacingMike Dunleavy.[9]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IUPUI Jaguars(NAIA Independent)(1994–1998) | |||||||||
| 1994–95 | IUPUI | 16–13 | |||||||
| 1995–96 | IUPUI | 22–7 | |||||||
| 1996–97 | IUPUI | 16–11 | |||||||
| 1997–98 | IUPUI | 17–9 | |||||||
| IUPUI Jaguars(Mid-Continent Conference/The Summit League)(1998–2011) | |||||||||
| 1998–99 | IUPUI | 11–16 | 6–8 | 6th | |||||
| 1999–00 | IUPUI | 7–21 | 4–12 | 8th | |||||
| 2000–01 | IUPUI | 11–18 | 6–10 | 6th | |||||
| 2001–02 | IUPUI | 15–15 | 6–8 | 6th | |||||
| 2002–03 | IUPUI | 20–14 | 10–4 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| 2003–04 | IUPUI | 3–11* | 2–6* | 2nd | |||||
| 2004–05 | IUPUI | 16–13 | 9–7 | 4th | |||||
| 2005–06 | IUPUI | 19–10 | 13–3 | T–1st | |||||
| 2006–07 | IUPUI | 15–15 | 7–7 | 4th | |||||
| 2007–08 | IUPUI | 26–7 | 15–3 | 2nd | |||||
| 2008–09 | IUPUI | 16–14 | 9–9 | 4th | |||||
| 2009–10 | IUPUI | 25–11 | 15–3 | 2nd | CBI Quarterfinals | ||||
| 2010–11 | IUPUI | 19–14 | 12–6 | 3rd | |||||
| IUPUI: | 274–219 (.556) | 114–86 (.570) | |||||||
| Georgia State Panthers(Colonial Athletic Association)(2011–2013) | |||||||||
| 2011–12 | Georgia State | 22–12 | 11–7 | 5th | CIT Second round | ||||
| 2012–13 | Georgia State | 15–16 | 10–8 | 5th | |||||
| Georgia State Panthers(Sun Belt Conference)(2013–2019) | |||||||||
| 2013–14 | Georgia State | 25–9 | 17–1 | 1st | NIT first round | ||||
| 2014–15 | Georgia State | 25–10 | 15–5 | 1st | NCAA Division I Round of 32 | ||||
| 2015–16 | Georgia State | 16–14 | 9–11 | 6th | |||||
| 2016–17 | Georgia State | 20–13 | 12–6 | 2nd | CIT first round | ||||
| 2017–18 | Georgia State | 24–11 | 12–6 | 2nd | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| 2018–19 | Georgia State | 24–10 | 13–5 | 1st | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| Georgia State: | 171–95 (.643) | 99–49 (.669) | |||||||
| Tulane Green Wave(American Athletic Conference)(2019–present) | |||||||||
| 2019–20 | Tulane | 12–18 | 4–14 | 12th | |||||
| 2020–21 | Tulane | 10–13 | 4–12 | 10th | |||||
| 2021–22 | Tulane | 14–15 | 10–8 | 5th | |||||
| 2022–23 | Tulane | 20–11 | 12–6 | 3rd | |||||
| 2023–24 | Tulane | 14–17 | 5–13 | T–10th | |||||
| 2024–25 | Tulane | 19–14 | 12–6 | 4th | CBC | ||||
| Tulane: | 89–88 (.503) | 47–59 (.443) | |||||||
| Total: | 534–402 (.571) | ||||||||
National champion Postseason invitational champion | |||||||||
*18 wins (including 8 conference wins) vacated by NCAA[10]
Hunter and his wife, Amy, have two children: Jasmine andRonald (R. J.).