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picasso
3/24/2006, 10:53 AM
Hall salvages a good life, career
By BILL HAISTEN World Sports Writer
3/24/2006



During his senior year at Rogers High School, where he averaged nearly 28 points per game, James Hall was viewed as a player destined for college basketball stardom.

That was a long time ago -- the 1997-98 season.

But instead of playing at the University of Oklahoma, which had been his plan, Hall did not qualify academically and spent one season at Bacone College.

There was not a second season at Bacone, however, because he was sent to prison. In Tulsa District Court, he was given an 11-year sentence for drug trafficking.

"When the judge said 11 years, my heart stopped beating," Hall said in 2003. "I remember thinking, 'What just happened?' But I didn't say a word. I couldn't speak."

After 40 months of incarceration, he was paroled on Christmas Eve 2002. He played at Eastern State College in 2003-04 and transferred to the University of Montevallo in Alabama.

This week, the 26-year-old Hall finally completed his college career. In an NCAA Division II Elite Eight game at Springfield, Mass., he and the Montevallo Falcons were beaten by Seattle Pacific.

The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Hall has been a terrific player for the Falcons. As a junior, he averaged 18.5 points and was a first-team All-American.

This season, he contributed 16.8 points and 6.1 rebounds for the Falcons (29-5). He was named a third-team All-American.

"I'll have some options to go and play professionally," Hall said by phone from Boston. "I'll definitely play somewhere, either in the States or overseas."

Eastern coach Jimmy Voight gave Hall a second chance and that led to a Montevallo scholarship. If Hall deserved prison time for his attempt to sell drugs, then the soft-spoken Tulsan deserves respect and congratulations for salvaging his life. In August, he will graduate with a kinesiology degree.

"There's a price to pay if we make bad choices. I learned the hard way," Hall said three years ago. "I'm determined to stay away from bad situations. I've been in the wrong place. Now, I want to stay in the right place."

BoomerJack
3/24/2006, 12:08 PM
You have to tip your hat to the young man for the success he has had since his parole. I hope he can continue with a pro BB career and hopefully be a model for others to show what they can do with their lives.

Sooner04
3/24/2006, 12:44 PM
That kid was unbelievable. Definitely one of the legends of this state.

picasso
3/24/2006, 03:19 PM
my cousin (a Tulsa cop) saw him play and said he was big time. We were both pumped about his ocming to OU. Of course he then got into more trouble. Turns out he was trying to raise his siblings.