Dave's JOINT

Photo courtesy of Dave’s Joint.

By David Cordova

In this second installment of The City Game, we talk about Nigel James, a junior guard from Long Island who made his presence felt in the NEPSAC at Cushing Academy last season on the prep school scene and parlayed that into a great AAU season on the Expressions Elite 16U squad and in the NY vs. NY tournament with the Lincoln Park Classic. This upcoming season, he returns to Long Island to play for national perennial powerhouse and the defending New York State Federation champions, Long Island Lutheran.

It’s July 3rd, and it’s a hot, humid day out in North Augusta, South Carolina. Many basketball fans have descended upon the Riverview Park Activities Center for the Nike EYBL Peach Jam, which pits many of the best players in the nation and from Canada for one goal and one goal only, to win the Peach Jam title.

During the afternoon session, one of the 16U games worth watching is the matchup between Expressions Elite and Strive for Greatness. SFG, which the Los Angeles-based program is commonly referred to for short, is known for attracting plenty of crowds in various stops, as they have plenty of marquee names on their roster, one of them being Bryce James, the youngest son of Lakers star and future NBA Hall of Famer, LeBron James. The gym is packed and is sold out at least 20 minutes before tip-off, leaving various people who could not get in the gym watching from the balcony, or waiting outside, hoping for someone to come out so that they can enter to see a glimpse of the action.

As the game starts, the action is top-notch. Although SFG is making their presence felt, there is one person on the other team that is keeping the game close. He’s making nifty layups, distributing the ball to his teammates and making solid plays. He’s making things very difficult for the counterparts. Although Expressions loses the game by nine, 78-69, this player has left the gym having given his all, scoring 22 points on 9-for-18 shooting and finishing with four assists. This young man’s last name is also James. Nigel James to be exact.

The 6-foot-2 point guard is a dynamic player with electrifying skills on the court that will have people paying plenty of attention. He also plays like a city kid. That’s because he was born in Harlem and then moved out to Huntington, Long Island at a young age, but the city game always stays with him as a result. He has been trained by longtime player development specialist Jerry Powell and also played for programs from the city such as New Heights and the Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club for former NBA player and Bronx native Kenny Satterfield.

Last season, he played at Cushing Academy, a prestigious boarding school out of Ashburnham, Massachusetts, which is 50 miles away from the city of Boston, and averaged 13 points and six assists per game as a sophomore for the Penguins, who went 18-6 on the season.

This past spring and summer on the Nike EYBL circuit, he did well with the Boston-based Expressions, and saved his best for last at the Peach Jam, as he averaged 16.8 points, 5.3 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game on the 16U level, as he had two games in which he scored 20 points or more.

After the circuit was done, he turned his attention to the asphalt, as he played his first game on July 11th with the Lincoln Park Classic, which is a Nike-sponsored tournament based out of South Ozone Park, Queens, in the NY vs. NY tournament. Against West 4th, he made some great plays, including the game-winning layup. After that, the city was put on notice. In the next couple of games, including the semifinals on August 8th, which was ironically, at Lincoln Park, he was one of the most talked-about players in the tournament. He would lead Lincoln Park to the championship game at Rucker Park in Harlem on August 12th against the defending champions, Gersh Park, who are based out of East New York, Brooklyn. In this game, he threw down dunks and went to the basket at will. Unfortunately, it would not be enough, as Lincoln Park would succumb to their counterparts for the second year in a row in the title game. However, he left an impact, that he was given the Nike Offensive Player of the Year award for his onslaught on the asphalt.

As far as his collegiate offers, he has a list of marquee schools in power conferences such as Syracuse (ACC), Providence (Big East), Iowa (Big Ten), Oklahoma State (Big 12), Rutgers (Big Ten), Wake Forest (ACC), St. John’s (Big East), USC (Pac-12) and Minnesota (Big Ten).

In August, he announced that he would be coming closer to home, and would be transferring to perennial powerhouse, Long Island Lutheran, who was 23-2 last season and won the New York State Federation “AA” championship, finished 10-2 in the NIBC (second place behind Florida’s Montverde Academy) and was No. 1 in the state of New York. The Crusaders, coached by longtime head coach John Buck, has a bevy of talent coming back on his squad, including New York’s reigning Gatorade Player of the Year in V.J. Edgecombe, Jacob Ross, Dylan Mingo, Kayden Mingo and Godswill Erheriene. James will also be joined by Kiyan Anthony, the son of retired NBA star, Carmelo Anthony, as he transferred in during midseason from Christ the King, and also Connecticut’s own Tajae Jones and Pennsylvania’s own Alier Maluk.

Now that the city and the country have been put on notice, it’s going to be a pretty good junior year for him. With a major schedule to look forward to, it’s only going to get better for him from here on out. Just like rapper/actor Andre 3000 said in the 2006 film, “Idlewild,” “All the world’s a stage.” Based on his body of work, Nigel James is ready to perform on the big stage. If you can perform in the city, then it’s likely that you can perform anywhere.

The next article will be out next week, as we will talk about legendary college head coach Rick Pitino and the St. John’s Red Storm, as they are ready for a renaissance and a new beginning under the legendary head coach, who was hired back in April, replacing Mike Anderson.