LITTLE ELM, Texas — The biggest moment of a young player’s professional career isn’t on the court. It’s on the stage where it all begins. No one knows that better than Little Elm, Texas, native RJ Hampton, who recently landed with the Denver Nuggets.
2020 NBA Draft prospects have embraced the virtue of patience. The draft was originally scheduled to take place in June. However, due to an ongoing global pandemic, it ensued a month away from the start of a brand new season. Drafting is never an exact science, but this year, specifically, players struggled to separate themselves. Hampton, who was a projected top 15 pick, dropped to No. 24 on draft night.
The Denver Nuggets walked away with a steal, however. You don’t have to watch Hampton play long to know he’s a special talent. That talent blossomed in Little Elm with his high school head coach Rusty Segler.
“He’s a normal kid. He wasn’t a prima donna. He could’ve been if he wanted to. But he wasn’t, which goes to his upbringing,” Segler said. “His parents raised him right. I just love him to death. He is one of the most fun kids to be around.”
Hampton’s path to the NBA was unconventional. As a five-star athlete, he had offers from the best college basketball programs in the country. Instead of attending one of those blueblood institutions, however, he chose to compete down under in the NBL. That experience in Australia shaped him into the pro he is today.
“There might be more athletic players in college basketball just because the guys are younger and faster but I feel like the physicality and overall IQ is something the NBL has to offer and it was something I had to go against every night,” said Hampton.
The gamble paid off. Hampton now has the opportunity to prove he’s a tremendous asset to the Nuggets. But coach Segler believes he’s an even better person than he is an athlete.
“Instead of eating with the popular kids, who tell him how good he is, he would go and eat with an unpopular kid and make that kid’s day,” said Segler. “I mean come on. That’s the kind of guy he is.”
No doubt he has a big heart. He’s also a magnificent competitor with a big chip on his shoulder. Coach Segler recounted one time during a road game when the crowd chanted “overrated” as Hampton walked off the court at halftime.
“We just turned around and smiled,” Segler said. “That just put gasoline on the fire. We beat them by 11 in their gym. Hampton was, of course, a big part of that. But when you said overrated to that guy. Watch out. I almost wanted to pay people to say that.”
After getting drafted later than expected, there’s a possibility that the chip on his shoulder has become a massive boulder. A boulder that will give him an edge in Denver.
The Link LonkNovember 22, 2020 at 05:24AM
https://spectrumlocalnews.com/tx/san-antonio/news/2020/11/21/little-elm-s-big-star-achieves-nba-dream
Little Elm's Big Star Achieves NBA Dream - Spectrum News
https://news.google.com/search?q=little&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
No comments:
Post a Comment