COLUMBIA, S.C. – In a day and age where many high-level college prospects change high schools and travel teams in order to better their national standing, Josiah James has forged a path. The four-star junior guard has remained loyal to his Team TMP travel unit and Porter-Gaud School this winter, and has proven that if you go about doing things the right way, you’re going to be seen. Following his contest at the Chick-Fil-A Classic last week, we spoke with James on his emerging recruitment, his relationship with Khris Middleton and what makes him tick.
MORE EVANS: Twitter Tuesday
Corey Evans: Tell me about you and your strengths as a player.
Josiah James: I get my teammates involved. I dribble the ball very well and I can shoot it very well, even though I didn’t tonight. I am a great defender with the length and size at the one position. I can guard the 1-4. I am really a pass-first point guard but I can score whenever I have to.
CE: Who do you pattern yourself after from the NBA or college?
JJ: I like Ben Simmons; I like to watch a lot of his highlights. Shaun Livingston, before and after his injury, and also Khris Middleton, because he is right from my high school and I work out with him all the time. He is always giving me pointers and tips.
CE: Talking about Khris Middleton, how involved is he with you?
JJ: Every time that he is in town, we will get in the gym. I have grown more as a person with him than I have as a ballplayer because before and after workouts we will sit down and talk and not even about basketball. On the court, he has taught me a lot of things and I am really grateful for him.
CE: What all does he have to say to you?
JJ: He went through the process so he is telling me kind of the same things of not making any hasty decisions and to take your time with it and don’t let it be a burden and just enjoy it. Also, don’t get caught up in the hype and that you have to stay in the gym because there is always going to be someone working harder for your spot and you have to work for somebody else’s spot; you can’t stay stagnant.
CE: Does he tell you how good you can become?
JJ: He just says the sky is the limit for me because I really have all of the intangibles; I have the size, the skill and basketball is really in my blood, so I really feel I can take this game very far.
CE: How is the recruiting process playing out for you right now?
JJ: It is great. It is more than I could have imagined. The schools that are contacting me are great schools. I never thought in a million years that it would blow up like this but I just have to keep working because I am not anywhere near where I want to be; my end goal is to play at the professional (level) and I plan on doing that.
CE: What schools are in contact with you the most often?
JJ: Virginia Tech, Texas, Virginia, Oklahoma, Florida, South Carolina, Clemson, Georgia and Georgia Tech. That is basically it.
CE: You are far from a condensed list.
JJ: I probably won’t do anything like that but if I were, it would definitely be after this basketball season and going into my AAU season.
CE: Any trips coming up?
JJ: I am going to try and take some after the Christmas break.
CE: Anything in mind?
JJ: I want to get up to Virginia. I am trying to get out to Texas and Oklahoma on the same trip. The in-state schools, South Carolina and Clemson; Tennessee, definitely, Florida State, NC State and a few others.
CE: What is going to be the determining factors in making your decision?
JJ: The relationship with the coaches, but first, academics. I want to expand on the court and off of it. I know that basketball won’t be there forever but nobody is going to be able to take my knowledge away, so I will definitely go to a great academic school.
CE: Talk about the chip on your shoulder you play with competing against some of these bigger name schools and programs on the high school and travel circuits.
JJ: There are a lot of shoe company teams that I pass up on so I can stay home. Charleston is special because we aren’t like Georgia or New York where you have 10 or 15 big-time recruits every year but once every five years we get some good basketball. I definitely feel like I am overlooked just coming from Charleston but I play with a chip on my shoulder night in and night out.
CE: It seems as if you’re a pretty loyal person staying in Charleston and playing for Team TMP; will that play a factor in your college decision?
JJ: Definitely, with the schools that were on me first, I am not just going to overlook them. I am going to take every school into consideration. Say a school offers me going into my senior year; they weren’t really on me from the start. I have grown a lot with these coaches and built relationships with them all.
CE: Who were some of the first involved?
JJ: College of Charleston and Charleston Southern. College of Charleston had some great coaches and I love talking to them with coach (Earl) Grant and coach Q (Quinton Ferrell). Tennessee, with coach (Rick) Barnes and coach (Michael) Schwartz. I love talking to those guys. They were really the first schools to get into contact with me.
