City of Basketball Love

Josh Verlin (@jmverlin)
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Joe Hampton has committed to Penn State--again.

The rising senior at Oak Hill Academy (Va.) originally committed to the Nittany Lions last August, certainly early in the cycle for 2016 prospects. He de-committed this past March, after a strong junior season at the national prep powerhouse, but couldn't find a better option.

And so, he Tweeted on Friday afternoon that he had re-committed to head coach Pat Chambers, joining a Big Ten program that's been hot on the recruiting trail of late.

A 6-foot-7, 265-power forward, Hampton is a big body with soft hands and good footwork who can even step out and knock down perimeter shots. The left-hander will certainly bring something a little different to the Nittany Lions when he gets to campus, as they'll be losing fellow stretch-forwards Brandon Taylor and Donovon Jack to graduation after this year.

In his first year at Oak Hill, he helped the Warriors to a 47-1 record, though they would suffer their only loss in the DICK's national championship, losing to No. 2 seed Monteverde (Fl.) Academy.

His commitment came just a day after he visited Virginia Tech, one of several high-major schools that had offered since he re-opened; Texas A&M, Providence and Boston College had also done so in the last few weeks.

Though he was the first and only member of the Nittany Lions' incoming class of 2016 when he originally committed, he's now the second player to verbally pledge to come to State College next summer/fall, along with Roman Catholic wing Nazeer Bostick, who committed last month.

"That's great," Bostick texted when he heard the news. "He's a good player, I played with him at Hoop Group in ninth grade. I like Joe."

The duo are the makings of a very solid class for Chambers, who's also bringing in a well-regarded trio in 2015 in Phelps School forward Mike Watkins, St. Mary's (Md.) wing Davis Zemgulis and another Oak Hill product, shooting guard Josh Reaves.

Now it's about turning that success on the recruiting trail into wins on the hardcourt. Last season, the Nittany Lions went 18-16 overall, but just 4-14 in Big Ten play; they haven't reached the NCAA Tournament in Chambers' first four years and only went once in the last 14 years overall.