Five-star basketball recruit RJ Hampton has made his college decision. While the top prospect was a target of a number of the top programs in the country, he ultimately decided that he would head overseas to begin his professional career.
Hampton, who was considering Kansas, Memphis and Texas Tech, will be heading to New Zealand to play for the New Zealand Breakers of the NBL.
“I think he’s ready, that’s why we weren’t going back to high school,” Hampton said, via 247 Sports. “It’s never been a dream of his to play college basketball, it’s been a dream of his to use college basketball as a vehicle to get to the NBA. … He’s playing against grown men. He’s learning how to practice like a pro, and learning how to do everything like a pro and I just think those options outweigh going to college.”
His father said that it was a decision he had known for quite some time.
“I kept it on the backburner,” Rod Hampton said. “I want the public to know this isn’t a fly by night move. RJ could get in to Stanford. He has a 1280 on the SAT and a 3.7 GPA. We aren’t doing this for financial reasons or he has to do this, he could have gone to college.”
It will be interesting to see what the next chapter of Hampton’s career holds and where he will end up when he ultimately heads to the NBA.
Interestingly enough, top prospect LaMelo Ball has also said that he was considering playing in New Zealand or China, so we could see them teaming up for the upcoming season.
RJ Hampton Commitment: 5-Star Recruit Announces Decision
