­ATLANTA-Georgia State will host William & Mary on Wednesday in the annual 'Barefoot for Bare Feet Game' as Ron Hunter will coach barefoot to raise awareness for Samaritan's Feet.

For the sixth straight season, Hunter will walk the sidelines barefoot to raise awareness for the cause and the nearly 300 million children around the world who wake up without shoes each day.

Hunter has been an ambassador for the organization since 2008 and once a season, around the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend and National Day of Service, he coaches barefoot. This year's game, which is sponsored by Coke Zero, will be his second as the head coach of the Panthers.

“To go without shoes for two hours to raise awareness for such a great cause is the least that I can do,” commented Hunter. “In the five-plus years that I have worked with Samaritan's Feet, we have been able to bring awareness to the 300 million children throughout the world without shoes. Although we have done a lot, we still have a lot to do.

“When we provide a pair of shoes to a child, we give them more than just a pair of shoes, we give them hope. With hope, they realize that they can become anything that they would like to be, from a basketball coach to the President of the United States.”

Georgia State (6-11, 1-3 CAA) is looking to rebound after a pair of back-to-back one possession losses to Hofstra and Delaware. In the Panthers first 17 games, they have been involved in seven one possession games, winning the first three, before falling in the last four.

William & Mary (7-8, 1-3 CAA) has lost five straight after starting the season 7-2.

The game can be heard live on WRAS-FM 88.5 beginning with the Panther Pregame Show at 6:30 p.m. with the 'Voice of the Panthers' Dave Cohen and former Panther Rodney Turner calling the action. Live stats and live video will be available at GeorgiaStateSports.com.

A pre-game event for PAC donors of the $100 level and higher is also set for Wednesday starting an hour before the Panthers tip. Donors can meet, network and enjoy food and beverages in the PAC Lounge on the third floor of the GSU Sports Arena. To register, please call 404-413-4144.

The first 1,000 fans in attendance will receive 0-0-1 t-shirts along with light wands and glow-in-the-dark bracelets.

Fans interested in supporting Samaritan's Feet will be able to make donations at stations on the first and third floor concourses. For each $10 donation, Samaritan's Feet is able to produce and deliver one pair of shoes to a child in need.

Freshman R.J. Hunter, who is a game-time decision after hurting his foot on Saturday, leads all CAA freshmen in scoring and rebounding and is one of just six freshmen in the country averaging at least 15.0 points and 5.0 rebounds per game. In his first four CAA games, Hunter is averaging 17.5 points, 6.3 rebounds and shooting 46.3 percent from the floor.

Hunter has won four CAA Rookie of the Week honors this year and is a leading candidate for rookie of the year honors. He has scored 20-plus points six times this season.

R.J. Hunter, the only son of head coach Ron Hunter is averaging a team-high 15.9 points per game, seventh in the CAA, and 5.9 rebounds per game, the 16^th best mark in the conference. He is also collecting 2.1 three-pointers per game, fourth best in the league and shooting 35.0 percent from beyond the arc, seventh in the conference.

Hunter is also among the CAA leaders in free throw percentage, steals, blocked shots, minutes played and defensive rebounds.

Junior point guard Devonta White, who earned Preseason All-CAA Second Team honors before the season and was also named to the Bob Cousy Collegiate Point Guard of the Year Award Watch List by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame, leads the CAA in minutes played (36.6) and is first in steals per game, averaging 1.9.

White is second on the team in scoring, averaging 14.2 points per game, 12th in the CAA, while dishing out 3.2 assists, fourth in the league. The junior dished out a career-high seven assists against James Madison and had six against Delaware last Saturday.

One of three team captains, White, who missed 10 games during his freshman season due to an injury, is just 217 points away from becoming the 17^th Panther with 1,000 career points. He is just off pace to eclipse that mark by the end of the year, needing to average 15.5 points per game in the remaining regular season contests.

Redshirt-junior Manny Atkins has missed three double-doubles this season by just one rebound and another four double-doubles by just two rebounds, including a 20-point, five-rebound effort against Delaware.

From nearby Tucker, Ga., the Virginia Tech transfer is averaging 12.9 points and 6.3 rebounds per game this season, both among the top 16 in the CAA. Atkins is also shooting 76.6 percent from the free throw line, the tenth best mark in the CAA. He is second in the CAA in three-point field goal percentage, hitting 40.6 percent from beyond the arc. He is also eighth in the CAA making 1.6 three-pointers per game.

Lone senior James Vincent played in his 100^th career game earlier this season against Drexel and has moved into the top five in GSU history in blocked shots. His eight-block performance against James Madison was the third most in a single-game in school history. Earlier this year, he blocked nine shots against Monmouth to tie the school record.

He leads the CAA averaging 2.5 blocked shots per game and is among the top 25 in the league in rebounding, pulling down 4.6 per contest.

William & Mary is led by Marcus Thornton, averaging 18.3 points and 35.7 minutes per game. The Tribe has had the same starting five in every game this season, including Thornton, Brandon Britt, Tim Rusthoven, Kyle Gaillard and Matt Rum.

Following Wednesday's game, Georgia State will take to the road to face Old Dominion in Norfolk, Va., on Saturday night at 7 p.m. The Panthers will stay on the road to face Towson in Baltimore on Monday night at 7 p.m. before returning home to face UNCW on Jan. 23 at 7 p.m.

www.GeorgiaStateSports.com