North Texas' RJ Hampton Charting Own Course To The NBA
PLANO, Texas (CBSDFW.COM) - A little more than a year ago, RJ Hampton fast-tracked his graduation from Little Elm High School, bypassing a chance to play one more year of high school ball let alone college.
Catching up with him recently at a workout in Plano, Hampton, 19, said, "My goal is to get to the NBA and this is the fastest way possible."
The NBA requires players be a year removed from high school and at least 19 years old.
Hampton is now both.
The Hamptons moved to New Zealand together where he played in the pro league there for one season.
Now they're back in DFW.
RJ's father said, "Everything for our kids. You sacrifice. The lesson he's gonna learn when he gets kids you gotta sacrifice."
A slam dunk to be a lottery pick in the draft October 16, R.J. made more than $1 million in New Zealand.
He's got a multi-million dollar shoe deal, already being mentored by some of the league's top stars and he's even in the video game NBA 2K. I
"It's crazy to think about all the work that I put in. I wanna be the first pick," he said. "It's in God's hands but that's what I'm going for."