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NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Pros and cons of RJ Hampton’s final 3 teams

By Tristan Freeman

NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 18: RJ Hampton #5 and Jahmius Ramsey #10 of Team Ramsey pose for pictures on the court after the game against Team Stanley during the SLAM Summer Classic 2018 at Dyckman Park on August 18, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NY - AUGUST 18: RJ Hampton #5 and Jahmius Ramsey #10 of Team Ramsey pose for pictures on the court after the game against Team Stanley during the SLAM Summer Classic 2018 at Dyckman Park on August 18, 2018 in New York City. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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INDIANAPOLIS, IN – NOVEMBER 06: Devon Dotson #11 of the Kansas Jayhawks dribbles the ball against the Michigan State Spartans during the State Farm Champions Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on November 6, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
INDIANAPOLIS, IN – NOVEMBER 06: Devon Dotson #11 of the Kansas Jayhawks dribbles the ball against the Michigan State Spartans during the State Farm Champions Classic at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on November 6, 2018 in Indianapolis, Indiana. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Kansas Jayhawks

Pros

Joining a prestigious program like Kansas will give Hampton all the exposure he can imagine. Primetime games on both Monday and Saturday night on ESPN, playing in front of the legendary Allen Fieldhouse and all but assured of making the NCAA Tournament and possibly a deep run as well. That doesn’t even include having  Hall of Fame head coach Bill Self for a year to learn and develop before going pro.

The Jayhawks roster also provides added benefits, including the frontcourt of Silvio De Sousa and Udoka Azubuike. While they plug up the paint, Hampton will have plenty of room to operate on the perimeter. He also won’t have to deal with the toughest defensive assignments, thanks to wings Marcus Garrett and Ochai Agbaji. He would make this team preseason top-10 overall and the favorites to win the Big 12, potentially starting a new regular season streak.

Something else to consider. Hampton is close friends with Jalen Wilson, a top-50 recruit who decommitted from Michigan after John Beilein left for the NBA. Kansas has considerable interest in him as well so if these two becomes a package deal, the Jayhawks would become the heavy favorites to land both of them.

Cons

As of right now, it’s not known of what the fate of the starting guards (Devon Dotson and Quentin Grimes) are regarding the NBA Draft. Both could leave, come back, or go opposite ways. Since the Jayhawks are viewed as the current favorites though, what they end up doing might not impact him one way of another. Either coming back would make them the team’s starting point guard and have Hampton play more off the ball. If his intentions are to be the lead ball handler, Kansas offers more of a sharing duty.

The other factor to consider is that Hampton may not end up as the star of the Jayhawks. There’s plenty of talent already on the roster and a slow start to the season could put the star prospect on the backburner – similarly to what with Grimes himself this past season. He’d have plenty of more margin for error with the other two options without losing playing time to other guards.

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