RJ Hampton



  • BShark said:

    @BeddieKU23 If you wanna barf, there are some great quotes for that from Rod Lavar Hampton here: https://247sports.com/college/basketball/recruiting/Article/RJ-Hampton-pro-deal-New-Zealand-Breakers-132369179/

    No thanks. Money talks



  • Probably need to re-name this the Rod Hampton thread. RJ doesn’t seem to have any say in his life.



  • @dylans That or something bitching about Adidas. Who is even on their circuit this year? 🤔



  • @BShark IDK. At least he didn’t visit with Jalen for the Tucker party tour.



  • RJ sure made it sound like he never wanted to play college ball. If that really is the case, good riddance.



  • BShark said:

    RJ sure made it sound like he never wanted to play college ball. If that really is the case, good riddance.

    Amen



  • I think we dodged a bullet.



  • Can we lose the one-year rule yet?



  • BeddieKU23 said:

    Time to lock this thread and delete

    I would if I could lol



  • jayballer73 said:

    BeddieKU23 said:

    Time to lock this thread and delete

    I would if I could lol

    Nah. It just took a dark turn though. I doubt anyone will be singing RJs praises in this thread from here on out. Lol



  • BShark said:

    RJ sure made it sound like he never wanted to play college ball. If that really is the case, good riddance.

    ya I caught that little remark too - -think that was daddy talking possibly? - -saying he neve wanted his boy to play college ball?



  • Since Ryan isn’t on here I will copy his last post from the phog because it’s really good info. Remember this is the guy that had this stuff first that I had seen.

    “FWIW, I was told back when I first mentioned Australia (different thread I think? maybe a locked one?) that it was already signed and the rest of this was going to be him and his dad doing a bit of a dog and pony show. He had a big offer to play in China, but they opted for UA and Australia over that.”



  • So we lose out on yet another prime recruit for this year. So there will be a lot of snide remarks made including myself - venting frustration and be P - - - - - off which is fine - we should be able to do that , yet decision has been made - -no reason to continue to start degrading and all kinds of negative things towards the kid. - -It suck - -ya it sucks big it’s a bunch of crap

    Yet one thing I’ve noticed , not only here but everywhere - -when fans think they are getting a kid I’ve done this just as much as anyone else - -and it all gets caught up in the heat of the moment - -when you think you have a kid - -think it’s as sure as sure can be - the kid is a stud , - - unbelievable player - - killer , - - - -how we are going to smash it with this kid.

    Then when he declares for another school after all of this - or in RJ’S case over sea’s - all of a sudden - he becomes a piece of crap – or he isn’t as good - - or he is a drama queen and activities - or any other nasty mean thing we can say about the kid?- -Is’nt this the same kid that we were heaping all that praise o just yesterday or the day before.?

    It’s just interesting how these things go. - One minute - were getting the best player in years - and then going to a piece of garbage drama queen kid.

    The whole situation sucks - - -Sucks - -B - - - - but nothing we can do. - -I think the best thing to do is like Betty said LOCK THIS DOWN and move on - don’t even waste our time any further - it IS a money thing like has been said - -yet it is what it is - -becoming a money business thing - - all I say is - - Screw it. v- - not sure if we have a chance to try possibly and get Kyree Walker yet or not - - haven’t heard much.



  • @jayballer73 Is this really a loss? Seems clear that RJ was never going to college in a million years.

    Worth noting that NONE of the coaches involved were even visiting him the last few weeks. So, I think maybe they did know at least somewhat. It is unfortunate though.



  • This is a disappointment but I think we dodged a bullet just like we did with Precious. There was a lot of time from now until November to wreck a Dodge Charger.

    Time to regroup once again and nudge Kyree Walker to reclassify.

    Moving on



  • I guess probably the ONE question I would really have on this would be. - IF indeed RJ truly was never really interested in going to College to play - - then WHY would you come and visit Ku 3-4 times during the recruiting process when you only get ONE paid visit? - when you have to pay for the others on your own - -and your NOT interested? - Doesn’t add up



  • Let’s get Dotson back.



  • jayballer73 said:

    I guess probably the ONE question I would really have on this would be. - IF indeed RJ truly was never really interested in going to College to play - - then WHY would you come and visit Ku 3-4 times during the recruiting process when you only get ONE paid visit? - when you have to pay for the others on your own - -and your NOT interested? - Doesn’t add up

    Idk but this deal was signed a long time ago, almost a month ago is what I’ve seen. It’s a crappy thing to do I agree. His dad really led everyone on as well. I think they saw the value in marketing of college bball and used that to generate hype.



  • KirkIsMyHinrich said:

    Let’s get Dotson back.

    Yesss



  • Marco said:

    Just taking everything into account, how he loves KU and the coaching staff, how they have been on him from day one, how he is announcing on Get Up tomorrow morning and with his homeboy Jalen being on campus Thursday (probably accompanied by RJ) I think, like I said, that we are going to land both RJ and Wilson, but, man!, daddy is starting to make me real nervous, in a LaVar Ball kind of way. Oh well, guess we’d only have to put up with him for one year.

    And daddy has spoken…



  • @jayballer73 @Kcmatt7 @BeddieKU23 @KirkIsMyHinrich @HighEliteMajor and whoever else…

    RJ tweeted “Big bag got them big mad”. It wasn’t about the money though guys…definitely not…



  • @BShark That was a punk tweet. Oh well. Good luck, RJ…don’t let the door hit you where the Lord split ya…



  • And daddy has spoken, let’s move on. A starting lineup of Dok, Silvio, Enaruna, Dotson (hopefully), and Agbaji with Dave, Mitch, and a combination of Braun, Garrett and McBride coming off the bench doesn’t sound half bad.



  • Marco said:

    And daddy has spoken, let’s move on. A starting lineup of Dok, Silvio, Enaruna, Dotson (hopefully), and Agbaji with Dave, Mitch, and a combination of Braun, Garrett and McBride coming off the bench doesn’t sound half bad.

    I think Dotson is the difference between a 2-3 seed and staring at the NIT.



  • Agreed. Would rather watch him for year two than Hampton for year one.

    I think Dotson is the difference between a 2-3 seed and staring at the NIT.



  • I am gonna be honest - unless Agbaji and Dotson take big steps forward, the freshmen come in ready to contribute immediately or Garrett has fixed his jump shot, the ceiling for this KU team is Sweet 16 or Elite 8.

    There just isn’t enough punch in that backcourt to make a Final 4 run. KU should be able to start a new conference title streak, but this roster probably isn’t a title contender.

    KU will be good next year. Perhaps even very good. Probably will spend most of the year in the top 10 good. But that’s the ceiling. This likely won’t be a great team.



  • @justanotherfan Agree. Garrett having to play 30+ mpg in particular will limit the team. It seems highly unlikely that he improves his jumper much.

    Great thread from Sam Vecenie: https://twitter.com/Sam_Vecenie/status/1133369258858012672

    Interesting stuff here. This could become more of a trend. Players are worth more than a scholarship, that much is clear.



  • BShark said:

    @justanotherfan Agree.

    Great thread from Sam Vecenie: https://twitter.com/Sam_Vecenie/status/1133369258858012672

    Interesting stuff here. This could become more of a trend. Players are worth more than a scholarship, that much is clear.

    This has been coming for a while. I have posted on this board numerous times that college hoops needed to rethink its structure. There are other options out there and more kids are starting to take those other options.

    Eliminating the OAD rule is a solution about five years too late for college basketball. That won’t solve the problem now. The ability to earn a salary, plus endorsements is too lucrative. A guy like Zion Williamson could have made millions last year on an endorsement deal alone.

    The trial has just brought more light to how much its worth to get even a mid tier recruit. Its no surprise that some of these people are starting to believe that money should go into their own pocket instead.



  • Without knowing how much Zion and his family got to go to Duke, I was surprised he didn’t go the pro route simply to sign a deal early. Like you said, it would have been millions.

    We could be looking at a huge shift where even the big schools are closer to what is currently MVC level or thereabouts. There is really no reason for anyone in the top 10 minimum (maybe even expand this) to play college ball, then the rates will go up for the 2nd tier talent.



  • Going to college made Zion more money. He got a ton of exposure that wouldn’t have happened overseas and his advertising value has skyrocketed. The American consumer believes in the competitive level of college basketball. Footage from overseas always is received as “those players are not as good”. Only real basketball nerds like us understand that those pro leagues are actually more competition.



  • Zion already had a huge brand w/o Duke or college basketball. That said, ESPN/Duke definitely helped him to some extent.



  • BigBad said:

    Going to college made Zion more money. He got a ton of exposure that wouldn’t have happened overseas and his advertising value has skyrocketed. The American consumer believes in the competitive level of college basketball. Footage from overseas always is received as “those players are not as good”. Only real basketball nerds like us understand that those pro leagues are actually more competition.

    Five years ago I would have agreed with you. But Zion was famous before arriving at Duke thanks to YouTube. There’s nothing stopping a high level recruit from going overseas for a year while having a strong ad campaign either stateside, or in Australia or Asia (the Asian market is huge). It may be more lucrative long term to go to Asia and launch a campaign there just based on the population difference.



  • @justanotherfan RJ had a bigger offer from China according to reports but took the Australia offer due to English language and perceived better lifestyle.



  • Does this mean Grimes will return?



  • kjayhawks said:

    Does this mean Grimes will return?

    no



  • I got a new thread, Season 19-20 and Beyond, check it out… I’m interested in your take.



  • kjayhawks said:

    Does this mean Grimes will return?

    I hope not



  • justanotherfan said:

    BigBad said:

    Going to college made Zion more money. He got a ton of exposure that wouldn’t have happened overseas and his advertising value has skyrocketed. The American consumer believes in the competitive level of college basketball. Footage from overseas always is received as “those players are not as good”. Only real basketball nerds like us understand that those pro leagues are actually more competition.

    Five years ago I would have agreed with you. But Zion was famous before arriving at Duke thanks to YouTube. There’s nothing stopping a high level recruit from going overseas for a year while having a strong ad campaign either stateside, or in Australia or Asia (the Asian market is huge). It may be more lucrative long term to go to Asia and launch a campaign there just based on the population difference.

    Zion is not the norm. Zion was so popular on youtube as a recruit because he was a walking highlight reel with unique size and athleticism. He was a lot more popular than RJ Barrett, who was a higher ranked recruit than Zion. And Zion’s popularity reached another level after he committed to Duke to the point where ESPN and other sports websites were writing articles about him every day. Now, people who don’t even watch college basketball know who he is. I don’t think that happens if he plays in New Zealand.



  • https://twitter.com/adamzagoria/status/1133406066493067265?s=21

    Been in the works for 3 months!! Surely Self knew this.



  • Woodrow said:

    https://twitter.com/adamzagoria/status/1133406066493067265?s=21

    Been in the works for 3 months!! Surely Self knew this.

    I think he probably had faith that Adidas would take care of it.



  • Woodrow said:

    https://twitter.com/adamzagoria/status/1133406066493067265?s=21

    Been in the works for 3 months!! Surely Self knew this.

    Did any coach visit RJ the last three weeks? Pretty telling.



  • BShark said:

    @justanotherfan RJ had a bigger offer from China according to reports but took the Australia offer due to English language and perceived better lifestyle.

    Has he seen the spiders and snakes in Australia? LOL



  • By chance did anyone else wake up their significant other with a loud MFer! This morning?



  • dylans said:

    By chance did anyone else wake up their significant other with a loud MFer! This morning?

    And here I thought I was the only one.



  • You guys!



  • Crimsonorblue22 said:

    You guys!

    TELL ME MORE CRIMS



  • Hampton’s twitter is cracking me up. “PEOPLE ARE MAD I TOOK BAGS.”

    No dude. Nobody is mad you went and got paid. They’re mad you tried to pretend you were staying (even though Slater was basically all over this) to get hype.



  • I’ll only mention his name because others are following in his footsteps but since RJ went to Australia there’s been two players I’ve seen that are bypassing College.

    Kenyon Martin’s son who was signed to Vanderbilt is skipping. Puzzling decision since he wasn’t a top recruit.

    Now Arizona’s Terry Armstrong- a 4 star SF is skipping College to go pro. Poor Sean Miller.

    The trend is definitely opening up pandora’s box



  • @BeddieKU23 Hadn’t heard about Armstrong. It’s pretty curious for lower level guys, but I can’t blame them. Nobody has to go to college and kids are starting to realize it.

    I wonder about the full story here though. AZ was at 14 scholarship players before he left.



  • Armstrong didn’t qualify


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