The Cincinnati Bearcats men’s basketball team received a commitment from four-star prospect Jizzle James. He announced his decision Oct. 4 via his Twitter account.
Ranked as the No. 59 prospect in the 2023 class by ESPN, James is the highest rated recruit to commit to Cincinnati since the beginning of head coach Wes Miller’s tenure. James received plenty of interest across the country, fielding offers from other notable programs such as Georgia, Georgetown, North Carolina State and Florida Gulf Coast.
According to 247 Sports, James is considered the ninth-ranked point guard across the nation in the class of 2023. He ranks just two spots ahead of another Cincinnati recruit in Rayvon Griffith, who announced his decision May 1. Both players sit just outside of the top 50 in 247 Sports’ overall recruit rankings.
The son of former NFL running back and hall-of-famer Edgerrin James, “Jizzle” has made a name for himself. In his first two seasons on the varsity team at Olympia High School, James performed relatively well. Considering many of the players he played against were multiple years older than him at the time, James impressed as a less-experienced player. He averaged 11.4 points per game, 3.6 rebounds per game and 2.6 assists per game as a freshman. He shot 37 percent from the field while shooting 31 percent from the three-point line in just seven games played.
His sophomore year saw improvements from almost all across the board. James averaged 14.8 points per game, 3.5 rebounds per game and 3.3 assists per game. He shot much better from the field, with a 46 percent overall shooting percentage and 35 percent clip from three. James played in 28 games for Olympia during the 2020-2021 season, his first full slate as a high schooler.
Just a season ago, James broke out as a junior. He averaged over 25 points per game with 4.5 rebounds per game, 3.4 assists per game and a career-high 2.3 steals per game. James shot the ball even more efficiently, connecting at over a 50 percent mark in the 2021-2022 season. He did fail to improve on his 3-point efficiency, however, shooting just 31 percent from beyond the arc.
Cincinnati has been very aggressive on the recruiting side of the game under Miller and his staff. They are going after highly-rated recruits that previously would not have been targeted under former head coaches in years prior. The commitments of James and Griffith are a phenomenal start for the 2023 class. The Bearcats are still heavily in the mix for fourth overall prospect Isaiah Collier, a point guard from Wheeler High School in Marietta, Georgia. Many believe Collier to be the best overall point guard in the 2023 class. He announced via Twitter that he will make his decision Nov. 16. Collier will decide between Cincinnati, Southern California, Michigan and UCLA.
Among other possible commitments, Collier’s teammate and fellow standout Arrinten Page recently committed to the University of Southern California, with Cincinnati among several schools placing offers for the 6-foot-9 center. 2024 prospect Flory Bidunga, also a 6-foot-9 center, is predicted by some at 247 Sports to chose Cincinnati when he makes his decision in the near future.