ATLANTA -- Ron Hunter still has the stool, the one he tumbled off of when his son hit a memorable shot in the NCAA Tournament.
He hung on to the scooter, too, the one he pushed around on after tearing his Achilles tendon.
But the Georgia State coach doesn't plan on needing either of them this time around.
Hunter is at full strength -- and confident his team can pull off another huge upset.
Maybe even two.
"I really want to get our team to the Sweet 16," Hunter said Monday. "I wasn't healthy before," he added, having a little fun. "We couldn't get to the Sweet 16 because I was on a scooter. But I've got both my feet. I'm ready to go. I'm healthy right now, man. I can go dunk if I want to. I'm on cloud nine."
The Panthers (24-10) are seeded 15th in the NCAA South Regional, setting up a daunting game Friday against No. 2 seed Cincinnati in Nashville, Tennessee.
Don't expect them to be intimidated by the opponent.
Three years ago, in their last NCAA appearance, the Panthers pulled off a stunning victory over third-seeded Baylor. Rallying from a double-digit deficit in the final three minutes, they scored 13 consecutive points capped by a winning three-pointer from R.J. Hunter .
The shot sent Ron tumbling off the rolling stool he was using on the sideline after ripping his left Achilles celebrating a victory in the Sun Belt Conference title game.
Hunter still has the mementos from that painful injury and memorable victory -- including, it turns out, the dress shoes he was wearing when he was hurt -- but they're all stored away.
These days, he's made a habit of wearing sneakers in big games, just to make sure he doesn't go down again.
"I don't have any more Achilles to tear," Hunter said, smiling. "I've got to make sure I stay healthy."
Since the Panthers wrapped up another Sun Belt title Sunday, there's been plenty of reminiscing about their last NCAA appearance.
This team is eager to leave its own mark.
"We feel like we're just as good if not better than the team that came before us," said sophomore guard D'Marcus Simonds, who was the Sun Belt's top player this season.
Given Hunter's success at Georgia State, where he's had five 20-victory seasons in a seven-year tenure, the 53-year-old's name has naturally come up for openings at more prominent schools.
That includes nearby Georgia, which is looking for a new coach after firing Mark Fox .
Hunter said he's perfectly content where he is and has no plans to leave Georgia State. In fact, he's working on a contract extension that he expects to be finalized shortly.
"I'm going to squash all that stuff right now," he said. "I love being here. Sometimes ... when you have success, people automatically think it's time to leave. That's really not what's supposed to happen. When you have success -- which is what you want to do in life, especially at my age -- you want to continue to have success.
"I am blessed to be happy. So I'm not messing with happiness."
Sports on 03/13/2018