By ADAM ZAGORIA
MINNEAPOLIS — Tre Jones will return to Duke for his sophomore season, and it could have a domino effect on R.J. Hampton.
The 6-foot-5 Hampton out of Little Elm, Texas is considering Duke among his top four schools and wants to have the ball in his hands immediately with his new team. If he reclassifies to 2019, still a strong possibility, that won’t happen at Duke, unless Jones slides over to the two.
“I’m sure people are going to look and see what Tre is going to do, that’s [R.J.’s] position,” Rod Hampton said in Minnesota Saturday at the USA Basketball mini-camp. “And Tre’s a very, very good point guard and I think he is a pro.”
Jones is the projected No. 31 pick in the NBA Draft, per ESPN.com, whereas Zion Williamson, R.J. Barrett and Cam Reddish are all projected Top-10 picks, with Williamson and Barrett potentially as the top two.
Tre Jones staying at Duke. Good for them. May also mean good news for UK, KU or Memphis on @RjHampton14 https://t.co/k43JJHLpcl
— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) April 8, 2019
Duke currently has a three-man class of guard Boogie Ellis, wing Wendell Moore and big man Vernon Carey Jr. They’re also strongly in the mix for 6-foot-9 Minnesota forward Matthew Hurt, who is following many Duke players on social media. Hurt is set to announce April 19 at his high school.
The Jones development could spell good news for Kentucky, Kansas and Memphis, Hampton’s other three schools. His father broke down their appeal on Saturday in this story.
“Even if we go anywhere in 2019, it’s going to depend on the roster,” Rod said. “We’re not going to take a year to sit and learn. We want to play, we want to put the ball in our hands, we want to go to work.”
Follow Adam Zagoria on Twitter
