Hamga comes to decision

The long, strange trip has ended for one of the most sought after big men in the class of 2007. Beas Hamga will sign with UNLV.

The 7-footer from Decatur (Ill.) Christian visited the Mountain West program, along with Kentucky, and opted to ink with the Running Rebels.

"UNLV is a good school and I love the coaches there," Hamga said. "I felt comfortable there. At UNLV, I have a chance to have the program built around me and be the cornerstone of the team.

"Every player in the country would like to have that happen to them. I am very excited about the opportunity there. I like the people there and I feel like I can do some good things there."

The four-star center said picking Lon Kruger's program over interest from Kentucky, Indiana and others was hard.

"It was a very tough decision," Hamga said. "I had to make up my mind on a hard choice. I'm excited about UNLV though. It felt right to me."

Hamga is familiar with UNLV because of Gaston Essengue. The two are familiar with each other because of their homeland connection of Cameroon.

The one-time Iowa commitment re-opened his recruitment after Steve Alford left for New Mexico, and considered playing for the Lobos. Once word broke out about his intentions to look at other options, nearly every school in the country tried to throw a hat into the mix, says Decatur Christian head coach Alan Huss.