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Five-star prospect RJ Hampton surprised many when he chose to sign with The New Zealand Breakers of the National Basketball League rather than play college ball for schools such as Kansas, Kentucky, and Texas Tech.
Hampton spoke on many networks and made it clear he was ready to both make money and compete against professional athletes rather than playing college basketball.
In a segment, Friday Evan Daniels of 247 Sports said he believes that Hampton’s decision will have “a trickle-down effect.”
Will an elite prospect in the 2020 class bypass college for a pro deal like RJ Hampton recently did? The short answer is yes. Gave my thoughts on @247Sports: pic.twitter.com/0Vqg7r9Uls
— Evan Daniels (@EvanDaniels) June 7, 2019
Though Daniels did not name names, he did answer the question of if he thought any 2020 prospects could sign a pro deal rather than play in college with an answer of ‘yes.’
It’s clear Hampton may have started a new trend. That trend being: skip out on college, go get paid, play against pros and then head to the NBA.
This could be a problem for college basketball and the Kentucky Wildcats going forward, but it’s more or less a preview of what’s to come when one and done ends. Once that happens, more players like Hampton will flock to the NBA straight out of high school.
For the time being, it looks like going from high school to overseas is becoming a more legitimate option for promising talent.