Top recruit R.J. Hampton — who was considering KU — signs with New Zealand Breakers
R.J. Hampton, a 6-foot-5 senior point guard from Little Elm (Texas) High School, has decided to sign a pro contract with the New Zealand Breakers rather than play college basketball, he announced Tuesday morning on ESPN’s “Get Up” show.
Hampton, the No. 6-ranked player in the recruiting Class of 2019 according to Rivals.com, chose the pro team over playing for one of three college finalists — Kansas, Memphis and Texas Tech.
“My dream has never been to play college basketball,” Hampton said on ESPN. “My dream has always been to get to the next level and to play in the NBA, so I think this was the best route for me.”
The Breakers play with the National Basketball League of Australia. The team hinted an “exciting” announcement on its website Tuesday morning before Hampton made the news official.
“To secure a player of his talent is a tremendous endorsement of our program and a coup for our club,” Breakers owner Matt Walsh said. “The NBL is the best league in the world outside of the NBA and attracting a talent like R.J. is a testament to where our club and the league is on the world stage.”
Added NBL chief executive Jeremy Loeliger: “R.J. Hampton is one of the most exciting young talents in the basketball world and an upstanding young man who has all the hallmarks of a future champion. We are delighted he has chosen to spend the season with the New Zealand Breakers in the NBL as part of the Next Stars program and look forward to watching him develop on his way to a career in the NBA.”
Hampton — he averaged 32.4 points, 9.5 rebounds and 6.2 assists a game his senior season at Little Elm — attended the KU-Baylor game March 9 at Allen Fieldhouse as part of an official recruiting visit.
On April 30 he decided to switch from the recruiting Class of 2020 to 2019.
Hampton scored 41 points for Drive Nation AAU in front of several college coaches — including KU’s Bill Self — at a recent Nike EYBL event in Georgia. He played in one EYBL tourney prior to reclassifying.
“I wanted to set the trend. I never wanted to be normal,” Hampton said of choosing to play for the Breakers. “I kind of wanted to set the trend for the other guys coming up, to show them, ‘Hey this is not the only route you can take.’ I feel this is a better option for me.”
How does Hampton not choosing the Jayhawks affect KU’s team?
Scholarship players who at this time are expected to be on the 2019-20 roster: Udoka Azubuike, Marcus Garrett, Ochai Agbaji, David McCormack, Mitch Lightfoot and Silvio De Sousa as well as incoming freshmen Christian Braun, Issac McBride and Tristan Enaruna.
Freshmen guards Devon Dotson and Quentin Grimes have until Wednesday night to remove their names from the NBA Draft if they wish to return to school. KU continues to recruit Jalen Wilson, a 6-8 small forward out of Guyer High in Denton, Texas, who is ranked No. 47 in the recruiting class of 2019 by Rivals.com. Wilson — he has a list of KU, North Carolina, Oklahoma State and Florida — will visit KU on Thursday.
This story was originally published May 28, 2019 at 7:37 AM with the headline "Top recruit R.J. Hampton — who was considering KU — signs with New Zealand Breakers."
