SMU on Friday landed a pledge from Ted Kapita, a 6-foot-8 power forward originally from the Congo now playing for DME Academy of Daytona Beach, Fla.
The commitment of Kapita, a potential future pro, was first reported by Evan Daniels of Scout.com.
“SMU has done a great job recruiting Ted and he felt really comfortable with the whole staff and of course playing for a legend like Larry Brown is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” head coach Chris Chaney told SNY.tv.
Kapita, a onetime Arkansas commit, would likely have been NBA Draft eligible in 2016, according to Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress.com, but now could come out in 2017.
He’s averaging 14.8 points and 8.0 rebounds for DME (30-1)
“He has a chance to be a special player,” said Chaney.
After he failed to qualify to enroll at Arkansas last summer, Kapita was awash in rumblings, rumors and inaccurate reports. He was said to have signed a professional contract to play overseas. And the controversial AmeriLeague out of Las Vegas said Kapita had signed with them.
“Ted Kapita The FUTURE of AmeriLeague,” the league Tweeted in September.
The league’s now disgraced head Glendon Alexander, aka Cerruti Brown, also told me Kapita had signed with the league, and I reported it, as did others.
“Actually, I’m glad you mentioned that because that almost messed up my NCAA eligibility,” Kapita, 19, told me in November. “I didn’t sign anything for anybody.”
The AmeriLeague was targeting players such as Kapita who failed to qualify for the NCAA (Alexander/Brown told me and other reporters as much), and Kapita said he spoke with Alexander/Brown about potentially playing in the Las Vegas outfit.
“He calls me, but I haven’t committed or decided that I’m going to sign,” Kapita said. “He called me but I didn’t sign anything.”
Kapita added that the fact that he was now playing for a post-grad team was proof.
“The fact that I’m here playing in high school, this is post-grad, this is almost high school,” he said. “I wasn’t qualified if you read my article online, so this is my post-grad.”
It was also reported that Kapita signed a contract to play in France.
Kapita said he’s not on Twitter and can’t control what people report about him.
“I cannot stop people from saying stuff they want to say, we’re in America,” Kapita said.
Chaney also said Kapita never signed a pro contract, and sources close to at least one college recruiting him said they failed to find any evidence that Kapita signed with anyone.
SMU was handed a postseason ban and Brown served a nine-game suspension after the NCAA penalized the school because a secretary was found to have improperly helped former SMU player Keith Frazier with an online class (a class a source said Frazier didn’t even need.)
“Right now I’m taking my ACT prep class so I can take the ACT and get eligible,” Kapita said in November. “I didn’t qualify, I didn’t pass my test [to get into Arkansas].”
Kapita emphasized that he believes the only thing holding him back from being college-eligible is his test score.
“I’m clear, but I didn’t pass my test,” he said. “My test score wasn’t high enough. I gotta work on that and that’s the only thing left.”
Asked if he believes he will ultimately qualify for college, he said, “Yes, the only thing is my test. I don’t have anything with NCAA, I don’t have any problem with transcript, I don’t have any problem. The only thing was my test score was low.”
Said Chaney: “Yeah, I think he’s working hard on that aspect [academics] also. He’s definitely making the most of his time on and off the court.”
Chaney believes Kapita has a high upside going forward.
“No. 1, he’s an unreal athlete, has an unreal work ethic, so great teammate, wants to get better all the time,” he said. “And with our facilities down there he’s made the most of it. So I think his better days are definitely ahead of him and he can play inside and outside.”
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