NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Five-star 2019 point guard Josiah James down to 4 teams

Josiah James is one of the best point guards in the 2019 recruiting class. Between Duke, Tennessee, Michigan State and Clemson, which will he commit to?

Last season, top-5 overall recruit Zion Williamson was the best player in the state in South Carolina. His recruitment process was highly publicized, as well as his eventual commitment to the Duke Blue Devils.

South Carolina’s top player for the 2019 class isn’t as well-known as Williamson but is also a highly touted prospect in his own right. His name is Josiah James, a 6’6 point guard out of Porter-Gaud High School out of Charleston, South Carolina.

He already has great size for a point guard and uses it to his advantage, overwhelming his opponents on both ends of the court. James led his team to a state championship as a junior and was a member of the Gold Medal USA U-18 team in the 2018 FIBA Americas tournament this summer.

After listing his final nine teams over a month ago, James has shortened it to just four – Clemson, Duke, Michigan State and Tennessee. The Vols and Tigers have been recruiting him the hardest and longest, while the allure of the Blue Devils and Spartans also gives them a real shot at landing him.

James is a true point guard and would need minutes as the primary ball handler of the team. Out of the four, Clemson is the only team who has rising senior guards (Shelton Mitchell and Marcquise Reed) and the Tigers badly could get the five-star’s commitment. And after Williamson spurning the program for Duke, it would be great positive press for Brad Brownell locally.

Michigan State is an interesting finalist because the team will have an outstanding senior point guard in Cassius Winston. Tom Izzo and the Spartans don’t have much history in playing two point guards at a time but Winston’s shooting ability combined with James’ size would make it a good fit on paper. He’d most likely take over for Tennessee’s starting point guard Jordan Bone, who’s good but not at a five-star level like James.

Duke is the key here, considered to be the favorite to land him. They have five-star Tre Jones for the 2018-19 season but he’s expected to be around for just one season. That leaves the position open for the following year, with James being one of a few other options for the Blue Devils. Cole Anthony is another five-star guard they’re looking after and it’s a strong possibility that the two of them can share the backcourt for Duke for the 2018-19 season.

With visits already being scheduled and James himself saying that he would like to decide before the season starts, look for something regarding his future in the next couple of months. What the five-star point guard does will have a big effect on the other perimeter players on the 2019 recruiting class.