RJ Hampton’s decision to bypass college and play professionally overseas for a season may not pay off like he had hoped it would.
Sam Vecenie of The Athletic reported this week that, based on feedback he is hearing, the five-star point guard prospect seems more likely to be drafted in the No. 11 to No. 22 range rather than in the top ten. Vecenie notes that there are concerns with Hampton’s jumper as well as his defense and says that the 19-year-old could have used a physical workout environment to make a better impression on talent evaluators.
Hampton spent the last year in Australia’s NBL playing for the New Zealand Breakers. He was hardly spectacular however, averaging 8.8 points and 2.4 assists a game on 40.7 percent shooting. For comparison, fellow 2020 point guard prospect LaMelo Ball also played in the NBL last season and averaged 17.0 points and 6.8 assists per game (albeit on 37.5 percent shooting).
The coronavirus has created major challenges for the pre-draft process, and Hampton is a player who could be hurt by the lack of in-person workouts.
