Hampton ready for rough stuff
Most parents might have a reservation or two about throwing their 18-year-old son into the deep end of the pro basketball pool. But Rod Hampton is not your average hoops dad.
Rod’s son, RJ Hampton, is the most highprofile of the New Zealand Breakers’ offseason signings, arriving with his family in the early hours of Saturday to begin life as one of three Next Stars programme additions to the Australian NBL for next season.
Next Stars is a league initiative that paves the way for leading American NBA hopefuls to prepare for the draft by playing a season in the NBL. And Hampton is as leading as it has gotten since the programme was introduced formally last year.
He arrives as one of the top high school prospects in the United States and tipped to go top six in next year’s NBA Draft. But first he has skills to sharpen, knowledge to gain and toughness to add via a season with the Breakers in possibly the fastest growing pro league in the world.
And here’s the thing with Hampton, who has arrived in New Zealand with not only Rod, but mum Markita and little brother Ryan. He is just 18 and slender as a string bean ... and about to go to battle with hardened pros who will not think twice about sitting him on his backside, and then telling him about it.
Rod is well aware of what’s coming his son’s way. Back in his day he followed a standout college career at SMU with professional stints in Germany, France, Belgium, Spain and Croatia. He has been on the other side of the equation his son is about to enter.
‘‘I’ve been grooming him for this forever,’’ Rod Hampton told Stuff. ‘‘He’s ready. He’s going to be a problem. They’re going to have to worry about him. They’re older, they’re stronger, I’ll give them those two things. But skills wise and IQ wise, he’s just ready.
‘‘I just told RJ get ready for a fantastic ride. He’s put in the work for years and years and now it’s time for it to pay off. We’ve come here as a family but this is a business trip for us.’’
Of course Rod understands that RJ will be physically challenged, both by his teammates and opponents. That’s why they’re here.
‘‘You got to take your licks, and he’s already been doing that. When people trashtalk him, that just fuels him,’’ Rod said. ‘‘These are grown men, and you’ve got to pick and choose your battles. But he’s going to come at them.’’
Rod has challenged his son to embrace this opportunity.
‘‘I told him you’re going to have guys with families, guys making a living off this, and you come in with a lot of hype, a lot of steam behind you.
‘‘You just got to be one of the guys on the team, and when you get out on the court you got to shine. He already is a great player but he’s got to be a great team-mate and a great guy in the community…
‘‘The basketball part he doesn’t have to worry about. But everything else he has got to exceed everybody’s expectations. That’s why we’re here.’’
Rod is convinced this gap year of pro hoops is the best pathway to the NBA, rather than via the NCAA. But ultimately he said the decision was RJ’s.
‘‘We put the pros and cons on the table and let him know what he’s getting into, but it was 100 per cent his decision. As a family we’re right behind him, but he’ll be fine.’’
The landscape is a changing one, with the NBA set to reduce its age limit by a year in 2022. But Rod says RJ’s journey, as well as that of LaMelo Ball (Illawarra Hawks) and Terry Armstrong (South East Melbourne Phoenix), is being watched by a lot of people in the US beyond just the teams that might have them in their sights.
‘‘If it goes really well there are going to be a lot of guys trying this,’’ he says.
‘‘It’s not for everybody but people are going to try it. The NBL wants the next RJ Hampton, and kids in the US are starting to realise that if they’ve got a certain skill level one year in college might not be the best way to go.’’
Rod says the pressure of expectation is something he tells his son not to worry about.
‘‘I tell him you built this, just do what you do. If it goes terribly bad, he’s still going to be my son, so we’re in it for the good, the bad or the ugly. But when you prepare for something like he has, good things happen.’’
RJ, for his part, has learnt to trust his father’s guidance.
‘‘He’s been my coach since as long as I can remember. Yeah, he’s tough on me, he’s up on me all the time, but I wouldn’t be in the position I’m in if it wasn’t for him. We’ve been working to get to this goal, and we’re not done yet.’’