Five-star college basketball recruit RJ Hampton has announced that he'll be playing for the New Zealand Breakers next season, rather than going to college. According to Sports Illustrated, Hampton previously reclassified from the 2020 class to 2019 and had been considering Kansas, Memphis and Texas Tech.
During an appearance on ESPN's Get Up! Monday morning, Hampton explained his decision to play for the New Zealand Breakers of the National Basketball League of Australia.
"My No. 1 goal is to play in the NBA. I wanted to be an NBA player before I ever wanted to be a college player. This is about getting ready for the next level faster and more efficiently. Both of my parents went to college. My mom got her masters degree. Education is a big thing in our family, but this is about focusing 100 percent on basketball. You can always go back to college, but there's only a short window as an athlete where you can play professional basketball, and I want to take advantage of that. I think that challenging yourself on a daily basis is the best way to improve."
The 6'5 guard, who played his high school ball at Little Elm High School, was ranked as the top player coming out of Texas and the fifth player overall in the country in the class of 2019.