Charlotte Hornets: 10 must-watch 2020 NBA Draft prospects to focus on
No. 6 – R.J. Hampton (18 years old, Australia)
R.J. Hampton made headlines when he announced that he was skip college and start his professional basketball career in the NBL playing for the New Zealand Breakers. It’s a move that I believe will become more and more common for players coming out of high school over the next few years.
Hampton was heavily recruited by many teams coming out of high school, but decided to go the international route. We’ve seen this move before over the past few seasons with guys like Emmanuel Mudiay and Terrence Ferguson. Playing overseas helped their draft stock and showed scouts that they can hang playing with professionals rather than college kids.
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Hampton is a combo-guard with a lot of upside. He’s got a great package offensively thanks to his shooting stroke, driving ability and crafty ball handling. He needs to get stronger and work on his defensive ability, but you can see why scouts are so excited about him.
He can also put pressure on the defense and get to the free-throw line Offensively, he’s so skilled and has a chance to be a lethal scorer one day. He’d give the Charlotte Hornets a dynamic guard that can flat out put the ball in the hoop. We’re talking about a potential star at either guard position.