Three Jayhawks earn NBA Combine invites; KU recruit R.J. Hampton scores 41 points

Kansas’ Devon Dotson, Quentin Grimes and Dedric Lawson have received invitations to attend the NBA Combine, May 14-19 in Chicago, sources close to the players confirmed to The Star on Monday.

KU’s Silvio De Sousa, who was not invited to the NBA Combine, has received an invitation to the NBA G-League Elite Camp, May 12-14, also in Chicago.

The list of invitees to the combine has not yet been released by the NBA. Last year, 69 players were invited.

Dotson, a freshman point guard, has chosen Kevin Bradbury of BDA Sports Management to represent him during the predraft process. Junior forward Lawson will be represented by Jason Glushon of Glushon Sports Management. Sophomore forward De Sousa will be represented by Greg Lawrence of Wasserman Media Group.

Players have until May 29 to withdraw from the draft if they plan on returning to school.

Hampton erupts for 41 points

R.J. Hampton, a 6-5 junior guard from Little Elm (Texas) High School, who likely will switch from the recruiting Class of 2020 to 2019, scored 41 points for Drive Nation AAU in front of several college coaches — including KU’s Bill Self — on Friday at the Nike EYBL event in Georgia.

“R.J. Hampton exploded here, looking like potentially the No. 1 player in whatever class he ends up in. Finished w/41 points and six assists, completely dominating with his ballhandling, vision and defense. Even made some pullup threes, which is scary,” wrote Jonathan Givony of draftexpress.com on Twitter.

“Funny thing is Hampton was trying to be a real floor general, making some super impressive passes driving and dishing and operating out of pick and rolls. Could have had 12-15 assists easily. Eventually he was forced to go into takeover mode and ended up with 41 points on just 21 shots.”

Hampton, Rivals.com’s No. 5-ranked player in the recruiting Class of 2020, recently announced a list of KU, Duke, Kentucky and Memphis.

“Coach (Bill) Self, he’s just been on me real hard,” Hampton told Zagsblog.com. “He was my first real blue-blood type of offer my freshman year. With him, it’s been, ‘You can start something back up, you can get us back to the Final Four, to a national championship type team.’

“And with the guys they might have coming back, I don’t think they’ve gotten many commitments from many top guys, so it could be scary. And he meant that in a good way.”

Hampton’s dad, Rod Hampton, said he’s impressed with KU’s coaching staff.

“I would feel very, very comfortable dropping R.J. off at Kansas right now with Jerrance Howard and the coaching staff at Kansas,” Rod Hampton told Jayhawkslant.com. “I would have no problem at all and would feel very comfortable with R.J. playing at Kansas with Jerrance and the staff. We are definitely comfortable with the coaching staff.”

Self watches Walker, too

KU coach Bill Self also traveled to Texas last weekend to watch Adidas Gauntlet games of Kyree Walker, a 6-4 junior combo guard from Hillcrest Academy in Phoenix, who is also considering switching from the Class of 2020 to 2019.

Walker is ranked No. 18 in the recruiting Class of 2020 by Rivals.com.

“One of the most unique and versatile prospects in the country, Walker has a rare combination of size, athleticism, skill and motor,” Josh Gershon and Evan Evans wrote for 247sports.com. “Walker always plays extremely hard and with no shortage of confidence in his ability. In a good way, Walker doesn’t have a true position as he has the handle and vision to play on the ball, while his scoring ability and toughness make him a formidable threat off the bounce. Walker is a safe bet to be a productive player at the next level.”

Walker, who at one point was committed to Arizona State, is reportedly considering KU, Arkansas and Memphis.

Thompson faring well

Bryce Thompson, a 6-4 junior shooting guard from Booker T. Washington High in Tulsa, Oklahoma, who is ranked No. 59 in the recruiting Class of 2020 by Rivals.com, scored 21 points for Oklahoma Run PWP in a victory on Friday night at the Under Armour Association event at HyVee Arena in Kansas City.

KU, Iowa, Texas, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Arkansas, North Carolina, Tennessee, Missouri, Tulsa and Colorado are among the schools recruiting Thompson, whose dad, Rod, played for Self at Tulsa.

“It’s like family. Bill Self coached my dad so I’m real close to him,” Thompson told Jayhawkslant.com.

Hyland hears from top schools

Rising senior Nah’Shon “Bones” Hyland, a 6-3 combo guard from St. George’s Tech in Wilmington, Delaware, who is unranked in the Class of 2019 by Rivals.com, has heard from KU, Michigan, UConn, VCU and others

“Nicknamed ‘Bones’ because of his skinny frame, Hyland continued his torrid spring with his play over the weekend (in KC),” wrote Brian Snow of 247sports.com. “A class of 2019 prospect, Hyland is one of the older prospects participating, but there is no denying his major talent. Hyland can really shoot it, has good length, and then has combo guard ability. Many schools are getting their first look at Hyland now that he is healthy following a scary injury to his leg suffered over a year ago. With him healthy, Hyland is showing the potential he did back in the summer of 2017 when he first began to break out on the scene. Look for things to continue, and for visits to begin popping up shortly.”

Hyland has fully recovered from a severe injury he suffered in March of 2018.

“Finishing with game-high honors of 24 points (in recent AAU event), the quick twitch athlete is tracking as one of the top available seniors this spring,” wrote Corey Evans of Rivals.com. “How did he get to this point? In March of 2018, Hyland was sitting in his room where a fire broke out. He had to jump from his two-story window to escape for his own life which led to ligament damage, forcing him to sit out the entire travel ball season last summer. That was the least of concerns as the blazing fire led to the deaths of a younger brother and grandmother.”

“It is a pleasure to be back out here because, I didn’t get to play on the circuit last year, so just to get back out here and to be a leader on the floor, to start to have fun with it all, it just feels good,” Hyland added about his return.

This story was originally published April 29, 2019 at 7:54 PM with the headline "Three Jayhawks earn NBA Combine invites; KU recruit R.J. Hampton scores 41 points."