Prospect Watch: Marcus James (2017)
Class of 2017 point guard Marcus James of Francis Howell Central loves to bring speed and quickness to the game every time he steps on the floor. The 5’11” James is a bundle of energy who loves to push the…
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Continue ReadingClass of 2017 point guard Marcus James of Francis Howell Central loves to bring speed and quickness to the game every time he steps on the floor.
The 5’11” James is a bundle of energy who loves to push the pace of the game as fast as he can. His quickness has enabled him to excel in his two seasons as the Spartans’ starting point guard.
“On every team I play with, I try to get up and down the court as much as possible,” James said. “I try to get out on the break as much as possible so the defense doesn’t have a chance to set up. I feel that gives me an advantage.”
As a junior, James averaged a team-high 11.4 points a game. He also averaged 2.0 rebounds, 3.5 assists and 1.5 steals. He led the Spartans to the championship of the Hillsboro Tournament last season.
With his speed and quickness, James is very good at getting to the basket and finishing on left hand drives to the hoop. When he gets to the basket, he is good at twisting and turning his body in traffic to get buckets in the land of the giants. He is also a good passer with excellent court vision. He loves the idea of finding open teammates with no-look passes. When opposing defenders back off of him, he has shown the ability to make the pull up jumper.
“I think I have a very high basketball IQ and I can find the open man,” James said. “I like to take it to the basket and draw contact.”
James spent the grassroots season playing with the St. Louis Majestics 17U team. He played well during the July evaluation period at the Adidas Three Stripes Tournament in St. Charles, Mo and the Sunflower Classic in Shawnee, KS.