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There is more chatter that indicates R.J. Hampton may still be genuinely considering a move into the class of 2019 despite recently saying he will remain in 2020.
Hampton is one of the top guards in the class of 2020, but over the last several months, there have been reports that he is open to possibly moving up. The last time Hampton’s name was mentioned as a reclassification option, it involved Kentucky commit Tyrese Maxey, who was doing some recruiting in hopes the two could join forces in Lexington.
This time, it is not Maxey who is pushing Hampton to reclassify, but another 2019 Wildcat recruit, James Wiseman. On an official visit to the University of Memphis this weekend, Hampton, was surprised to see Wiseman there as well.
“Me and James talk, but I guess we didn’t talk last week. When I showed up to practice and I saw he was sitting there, we were like, ‘Why not take a picture to show everybody we are together?” Hampton told Drew Hill of the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
Now, try to stick with me on this: R.J. Hampton, Jalen Green, and James Wiseman have started a group that they have titled, “The Unicorn Fam.”
Yes, for real. As you can see in the picture below, the three players holding up what is supposed to be unicorn horns. Green and Hampton are two of the top juniors in America, while Wiseman is the highest-ranked player in his class according to 247 Sports.
Currently 247 Sports has Green ranked as the second-best player in the class of 2020 with Hampton not far behind at #5.
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— 247Memphis (@GoTigers247) September 13, 2018
Wiseman, Hampton, and Green are three prized jewel recruits that will make a major impact wherever they end up playing in college. So, they can call themselves whatever they like, but ideally, it was during an official visit to Kentucky and not Memphis.
But it has become reality that John Calipari is going to be battling it out with Penny Hardaway for top players, and that’s just how it is. If any coach was to land Wiseman and get Hampton to reclassify into 2019, then they would have an elite nucleus of players to build around.
R.J.’s father, Rod Hampton, absolutely is leaving the door open for the possibility of reclassifying into the class of 2019. Here is what he told Drew Hill during an interview with the Memphis Commercial Appeal.
“Kansas, Kentucky and Memphis are recruiting R.J. and James, and those schools have talked to us about reclassifying too, so you never know when it comes down to it.” Rod Hampton said.
As of now, Hampton is still set to visit for Big Blue Madness, which will allow Kentucky the opportunity to differentiate themselves between the likes of Memphis and others. One thing that can said definitively is that Memphis, nor any other program, has an event quite like Big Blue Madness at their disposal. This will be a big moment in the recruitment of Hampton as far as Kentucky is concerned.