Texas Tech basketball wins despite missing out on R.J. Hampton

Tuesday, the Texas Tech basketball program found out definitively that 5-star guard R.J. Hampton will not be coming to Lubbock, but his unusual decision to play internationally is still a significant victory for the Red Raiders.

We didn’t really think that R.J. Hampton was going to join the Texas Tech basketball program did we? Sure, it was exciting to think about the possibility of the No. 6 player in the nation joining Chris Beard’s loaded 2019 recruiting class and after the Little Elm, Texas product replaced Duke with Texas Tech in his final four schools, visions of blue-chip prospects were dancing in our heads.

But as his recruitment unfolded, especially over the last seven days, it began to look less and less likely that Hampton was legitimately considering Texas Tech. First of all, there was his father’s comments in the May 20th edition of the Kansas City Star in which he said that his son was still yet to decide if he was really serious about Texas Tech.

And when Hampton announced last week that he had made his decision and would be revealing his choice before he even took a visit to Lubbock, the writing was on the wall. That sentiment was further hammered home this weekend when the Red Raiders gave their final available scholarship to UNLV transfer Joel Ntambwe, who will have to sit out the upcoming season.

And Tuesday, Hampton made it official announcing that he will not be coming to Texas Tech…or any other college for that matter. Instead, he is bucking convention to play professionally in New Zealand for a year before entering the NBA Draft next summer.

In fact, Barstool Sports is reporting that Hampton had made the decision to skip college all together over a month ago. And Barstool should know being as their ownership has a relationship with the New Zealand Breakers, Hampton’s new team.

So in reality, it appears that Hampton was never really serious about coming to Texas Tech. And that’s ok. Some Red Raider fans may feel disappointed and may regret having their emotions toyed with by an 18-year-old kid but such is the price for following the recruiting game. Hampton will not be the last to tease us with the thought of bringing his potentially program-changing skills to Lubbock only to head elsewhere.

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But in a way, he did the Red Raiders a couple of favors over the past month. First of all, he gave Texas Tech basketball yet another round of positive publicity to help keep the program in the headlines following April’s run to the National Title Game.

Every time Hampton’s recruitment was written about, Texas Tech was mentioned as one of the potential landing spots for one of the best players in the nation. That type of recognition is helpful in legitimizing Chris Beard’s program in the minds of other potential high-profile recruits. Having a blue-chip prospect admitting that he is considering Texas Tech is akin to the new kid in junior high being rumored to have been seen passing notes with the most popular girl in the 8th grade. In both cases, the underdog’s reputation is enhanced simply by the the power of possibility.

But perhaps even more importantly, Hampton’s decision to play professionally on the other side of the Pacific is a huge blow to Kansas. Most believe that the Jayhawks will enter the year as the favorites in the Big 12 with Tech likely to be picked second in the preseason poll but had Hampton settled on Lawrence as his destination for his pre-NBA layover, Bill Self’s team would have been the prohibitive favorite in the Big 12 and possibly the preseason favorites nationally.

And Wednesday, Hampton admitted that if he would have gone to college, it would have been at KU.

RJ Hampton says on @BarstoolYak that had he not chosen to play for the @NZBreakers, he would have gone to Kansas.
— Barstool Radio (@BarstoolRadio) May 28, 2019

Certainly, without Hampton, Kansas is still going to be a handful with the likes of big men Udoka Azubuike and Silvio DeSousa in the post joined by breakout guard Ochai Agbaji and a host of returners from last year’s third-place Big 12 finishers. But without Hampton on board, the incoming Jayhawk class is fairly lean by Bill Self standards.

C.J. Moore at The Athletic points out that KU currently does not have a top-50 recruit (according to the 247Sports rankings) making this possibly the first Jayhawk recruiting class without such a player since 2008. Of course, KU is still in the mix for Jalen Wilson, a top-50 forward from Denton but the fact that the usual level of recruit that heads to Lawrence is not flocking to the Phog is somewhat telling in the wake of the ongoing NCAA investigations.

Unless Kansas signs Jalen Wilson, this will be first time since 2008 that KU hasn't signed a top 50 player (using 247 rankings). KU has signed multiple top 50 guys every year since 2013.
— CJ Moore (@CJMooreHoops) May 28, 2019

Currently, Tech sits atop the Big 12 team recruiting class rankings for 2019. That is partially a product of having a huge class (seven recruits) but also because Beard has landed three top-150 talents including Jahmius Ramsey, the No. 31 player in the nation.

Meanwhile, you have to go all the way down to No. 6 in the conference to find Kansas. With only three commits on board, the Jayhawks trail Tech, Texas, Oklahoma State, Oklahoma and TCU in the conference rankings.

Certainly, the Jayhawks are counting on getting most of next year’s production from their returners, which they hope will include guard tandem Devon Dotson and Quentin Grimes, both of whom must make their decisions on whether to remain in this year’s NBA Draft by Wednesday. But regardless, when Tech and KU meet, it will be a battle of opposites as a Red Raider roster featuring as many as nine new players will take on a Kansas squad that will be built around quite a few holdovers from the previous season.

Next. How Joel Ntambwe's addition impacts Texas Tech basketball. dark

In the end, the Red Raiders technically lost out in the R.J. Hampton sweepstakes. But sometimes a loss feels more like a win and in Lubbock, the reaction to the news that one of the best players in the nation is headed as far away from the Big 12 as possible certainly will not cause too many tears to fall.

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