Five-star James staying in Big 12
Damion James is headed back to the Big 12. After re-opening his recruitment from Oklahoma, the 6-foot-8, 225-pound forward from Nacogdoches (Texas) High School narrowed down his options to a pair of local schools. On Monday, he decided on where he'll start his college career.
According to Rick Nelson, James's Houston Elite AAU coach, James committed to Texas.
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"He decided on it today," Nelson said. "He is in the process of signing the paperwork right now.
"He felt like it was the best situation for him, especially once P.J. Tucker signed with agent," Nelson said. "That left a spot open for him and coach (Rick) Barnes made it clear that there will be immediate playing time."
Since opening things up from Oklahoma, James looked at a number of schools but trimmed his list to two – Texas and Texas A&M. Nelson said James visited both campuses with his high school coach Mark Richardson and let it all sink in before deciding.
"He looked at both campuses and decided to sleep on his decision and felt like Texas was the place where he wanted to go," Nelson said. "It was completely his decision and that's where he wanted to go."
James is a huge get for the Longhorns late in the game. The No. 17 ranked player in the class of 2006 brings versatility to the four spot much like Tucker did while in Austin.
James rounds out a stellar class for Barnes and his staff. He joins guards D.J. Augustin, Harrison Smith and Justin Mason, wing Kevin Durant and big men Matt Hill and Dexter Pittman.
Scouting report
A smooth athlete, James is a versatile small forward who can guard either forward position and can score both inside and outside. Handles the ball well but needs to work on the mechanics of his jump shot. - Jerry Meyer
Mark Reeves also contributed to this report.