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."
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."