"The Big Ten, that's my conference," -- Aug 2, 2011
When A.J. Hammons transferred from Carmel High School to Oak Hill Academy (Va.) before his junior year, it left a 7-foot, 270-pound void in the state's high school basketball scene.
Hammons, ranked as the No. 90 player nationally in the 2012 class by Rivals.com, isn't ruling out a return to the Midwest for college. He said he would likely make an unofficial visit to Purdue before he leaves for Oak Hill again later this month.
"The Big Ten, that's my conference," he said while competing in the Gym Rats Basketball Association National Championship in Fort Wayne last weekend, which completed the summer travel season. "That's home for me. But I don't know for sure. I think the only place I wouldn't go is really far out west. You pretty much have to fly out there and I don't like to fly."
Hammons, who had never flown before enrolling at Oak Hill, has a number of schools interested within driving distance of Carmel and his new home in Virginia. Jared Quarles, his summer coach with Spiece Indy Heat, said Cincinnati, Dayton, Florida, Georgia Tech, Minnesota, Purdue and Wake Forest have shown the most recent heavy interest.
"There are others, but those are the schools that have been the most consistent," Quarles said. "He's talked about being close to home, but I know there are some schools that he likes that are a little bit farther away, too. He's looking at it all school-by-school right now."
The simplicity of life on Oak Hill's tiny campus appears to have benefitted Hammons, who said he has never been in better shape and looks the part.
"Running miles and sprints," Hammons said of the routine. "Pretty much every other day is conditioning."
Though he admits it would be nice to get home a little more often during the school year, Hammons has some experience living in a boarding school setting. He attended Indiana Soldiers and Sailors Home near Knightstown as a seventh- and eighth-grader.
Alfreda Hammons talks to her son every Tuesday on the community phone at his dormitory at Oak Hill.
"The thing about being up there on that mountain," Alfreda Hammons said of the Oak Hill campus, "is that there is nothing else for them to do. There are no distractions. The only thing he can do is homework, play ball and work out. That's been good for him."
With a rare combination of size and skill, Hammons has realistic NBA aspirations. Part of the recruiting process is finding a college program that will help him get to the NBA.
"What we're trying to do now is give A.J. information he can use to make a decision," Alfreda Hammons said. "Part of that is to find a coach that can help him get to the next level. We want him to be with a coach who needs him and will use him. Does he want to go to a big top-25 college or does he want to play a lot? That's part of what we have to decide."
It's unlikely Hammons will decide anything before heading back to Oak Hill, although he could cut down his list of favorites soon.
"I'll get it down to five pretty soon," he said. "I don't know when it's going to be. I don't have Twitter, but maybe I'll have somebody tweet it out for me."
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