DME Academy 5-star basketball recruit Ryan Hampton leaves for hometown
· Yahoo Sports
DME Academy star and class of 2027 Kentucky basketball commit Ryan Hampton announced on live television on Aug. 9 that he would be returning to Rockwall, Texas, to play his senior season for his hometown school, Rockwall-Heath.
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"Just going back and working out three, four times a day (with) my weight trainer, my basketball trainers at home," Hampton said on an NBC5 Dallas-Fort Worth broadcast, according to 247Sports. "Prep-school wise, (we had to) travel always from Thursday to Sunday. Being back home, (I can) just focus on myself, focus on my team and really work hard next year to go to Kentucky and contribute as a winning player and impact as a freshman at Kentucky. (I) really just want to do that and really want to have a chance to start next year."
It’s a big loss for the Daytona Beach-based private sports academy, as Hampton was one of the best overall recruits in his class. The 6-foot-6 five-star senior is ranked by 247Sports as the 14th-best player in the country and the No. 4 overall small forward.
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Hampton played his previous three high school seasons with DME Academy’s national team and led it to a 25-10 record a season ago.
But the prospect of playing his final season with his friends in his hometown was evidently too good to pass up for Hampton before he leaves to join the perennial Southeastern Conference power. Unfortunately for DME Academy, it leaves it without its small forward.
“"I've been through all the prep schools," Hampton said. "I've been playing against the Montverdes, the Prolific Preps, Southeastern Preps. (I'm) really just going back to Rockwall-Heath, having a fun year with all my friends and being at home for a whole year.
According to DME Academy’s MaxPreps page, the highest-rated returning player is 6-foot-10 center Tref Rademaker, a three-star recruit playing for DME Academy’s Wisconsin branch.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: DME Academy 5-star basketball recruit Ryan Hampton leaves for hometown