Four-star Hamga open again

When Steve Alford left Iowa for New Mexico, Beas Hamga decided to put his recruitment back on the burner. The four-star big man re-opened his commitment to Iowa and will now reconsider a handful of other schools.

Hamga, a 7-foot native of Cameroon, verbally committed to Iowa last June and was excited about the prospects of suiting up for Alford and his staff. Now, less than a year later, the No. 32 ranked junior in the country is open again.

Hamga, who plays at Decatur (Ill.) Christian, is considering Connecticut, Florida, Georgetown, Indiana (offer), Iowa (offer) Kentucky, Memphis (offer), New Mexico (offer) Tennessee (offer) and UNLV (offer). That list is final, Hamga says, and doesn't plan on listening to any pitches from any other schools.

Hamga said when he found out Alford was leaving for New Mexico, he decided to reevaluate his status.

"When I heard, I started to think, 'Oh, man.' It came to my mind that I wanted to open it up and see other opportunities," Hamga said.

Now the process starts over again and with the No. 4 center in the nation back on the scene, it will be interesting to see how the schools Hamga is considering steps up this spring.