That gives Shaka Smart two commitments in the recruiting class with one projected scholarship remaining.
Marquette men’s basketball head coach Shaka Smart just keeps winning on the recruiting trail.
His latest win? A commitment from Class of 2025 point guard Nigel James.
James cut his list to just four teams in early June. He chose Marquette over Georgia, Georgia Tech, and Rutgers. Here’s what he told On3 in the past about what he’s looking for the most in a college basketball situation:
“Relationship is going to be big for me. The relationship with the coach and the relationship the team has. I want to play for a coach that lets their guards go, and that has a trust and a belief in me. My biggest thing though is going to be the relationship.”
We know Shaka Smart preaches relationships before anything else, so perhaps it’s not a surprise that James ended up picking the Golden Eagles.
Here’s what James told Sam Lance of ZagsBlog in early May about the Golden Eagles in their recruiting pursuit:
“Great program, great coaches. I’ve talked to coach Shaka [Smart], the head coach a lot. Talk to him almost every day. And coach Cody [Hatt] too, talk to him almost every day. Great relationships with them, great people. And I love the school. It’s a great school.”
247 Sports lists Nigel James as a 6’0”, 182 pound point guard from New York. 247’s Composite system ranks him as the #88 prospect in the country, #4 in the state of New York, and #13 amongst point guards nationally. Internally, 247 Sports has James a wee bit higher at #85 in the country and #3 in New York, but only #15 amongst point guards interestingly enough. ESPN does not have James ranked at all right now, even though he was #76 in the country not that long ago. On3 is dragging down the average a little bit, putting James as a three-star prospect and #112 overall and #17 amongst point guards. That leaves their Industry Ranking for James at #109 in the country. Rivals is dragging things down a lot bit, rating James as a three-star prospect and #121 in the country.
He attends Long Island Lutheran High School in Glen Head, New York, which is on the west side of Long Island. James himself is from Long Island, but he did spend the 2022-23 school year at Cushing Academy in Massachusetts. I can’t seem to track down anyone writing anything about James to mention any stats for him, either at LILu or Cushing or on the club scene, so if you can find something/if you know something, then send that over thisaway in the comments.
Here’s Nigel James answering a Q&A with Prospective Insight about his strengths and playing style back in January:
I’m aggressive. I’m an aggressive player. I like to win, so I’m very intense when I play and I play with a chip on my shoulder, always trying to help my team win, doing whatever I can. If I have to shoot the ball, hit threes, make plays for others, I’m there to do whatever I have to do and I’m just someone that you know is not going to take losing for an answer. I hate losing. So someone that always wants to win and is gonna help my team win.
And now, the brand new scholarship chart!
James is the second commitment in the class for Shaka Smart, following along after Ian Miletic back on June 12th. It’s always a good plan to recruit a point guard, and at the moment, it looks like James would get at least one year of learning behind Sean Jones and Tre Norman before anything really gets asked of him on the court for the Golden Eagles.