WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
* R.J. Hunter earned the Sun Belt's top award for the second year in a row, being named Sun Belt Male Athlete of the Year.
* Senior Ryann Green was named to the Sun Belt Conference Leadership Team, made up of one individual from each conference institution.
* Chris Locandro from men's soccer earned the Sun Belt's Male Postgraduate Scholar-Athlete Award for his work on and off the field.
ATLANTA-Georgia State's R.J. Hunter was announced as the Sun Belt Male Student-Athlete of the Year for the second straight year by the conference office on Monday. Teammate Ryann Green was named to the Sun Belt Conference Leadership Team, while Chris Locandro from men's soccer earned the Male Postgraduate Scholar-Athlete Award.
Hunter capped this three-year career at Georgia State earning Sun Belt Men's Basketball Player of the Year honors for a second year in a row and was also named an AP All-America Honorable Mention. He announced he was entering the NBA Draft following the season.
He led the Panthers to their first NCAA tournament appearance in 14 years in March. His 30-footer with 2.6 seconds remaining shocked No. 3-seed Baylor which had led by 12 points with 2:53 remaining. Hunter scored 12 of the 13 points in the comeback.
Hunter is the only player in school history to earn all-conference first-team honors three times. He has been a finalist for the Lou Henson Award given to the top mid-major player in the country each of the last two years.
He finished the season with a school-record 688 points, ranking among the top-25 in the NCAA in points per game, total points, free throw percentage, steals per game, minutes per game, field goals attempted, free throws made and free throws attempted.
Green was put on scholarship for his senior season because of his hard work and dedication to the game on and off the court. He graduated with degree in finance after earning Athletic Director's Honor Roll (3.5 GPA or higher) four times. Green was also honored on the 2013 NABC Honors Court and was one of 30 finalists for the Senior CLASS Award this season.
During his senior season, he played in all 35 games, making 27 starts and earning season career-highs in every statistical category. In Georgia State's return to the NCAA tournament for the first time in 14 years, Green scored a career-high 11 points, knocking down three 3-pointers as the Panthers shocked No. 3-seed Baylor.
The Sun Belt Conference Leadership Team aims to recognize one individual from each institution that exemplifies the highest qualities of being a true Student-Athlete. This award shall be given to a letter-winning student-athlete, based on leadership, sportsmanship, community service, citizenship, academic excellence and any other qualities valued by the institution.
A native of Kennesaw, Ga., Chris Locandro was a three-time all-conference defender for the Georgia State men's soccer program. He started all 55 games he played in for the Panthers and totaled 4,971 minutes. Locandro was a rock in the center of the GSU defense that he helped record 16 shutouts over three seasons. After redshirting due to injury in 2013, the center back was named to the All-Sun Belt First-Team as a senior after helping the Panthers finish second in the conference standings. Locandro started every game for Georgia State in 2012 en route to earning third-team all-conference honors. As a freshman, he led the Panthers to an NCAA berth and was named to the 2011 NSCAA All-South Atlantic region third team to go with first-team all-conference recognition.
A neuroscience and mathematics double major, Locandro graduated with a 3.74 GPA and earned a Capital One Academic All-District 4 selection as a senior. During his time in Atlanta, he was named to the President's List twice, Dean's List four times and Athletic Director's Honor Roll once. Locandro presented his research on epilepsy at the SYNAPSE conference hosted by the Medical University of South Carolina, and he plans to attend medical school after leaving GSU.
