Cincinnati Basketball: Bearcats get PG of the future in four-star Jizzle James

After being one of three finalists, Cincinnati Basketball ends up landing Jizzle James in the 2023 recruiting class. Will another point guard join him?

It’s a very important month for Cincinnati Basketball on the recruiting trail both a month prior to the season, as well as the last class before the program heads to the Big 12. There’s a big need to land a bunch of four-star or better prospects, as their new conference is a major upgrade from the AAC.

There are three prospects that the Bearcats are going after that are reportedly close to making decisions. There’s four-star recruits, Edgerrin ‘Jizzle’ James, Jr. and Arrinten Page, as well as five-star and top-5 overall prospect, Isaiah Collier. Cincinnati is a finalist for all three prospects and it would be the ultimate coup to land all three to join top-40 shooting guard commit, Rayvon Griffith.

The first to make a decision is Jizzle James, a four-star point guard prospect, ranked in the top-100 overall. Like his father, former Hall of Fame running back Edgerrin James, he’s a tough and physical playmaker that can get to the basket and draw contact, while also being a capable playmaker and facilitator. He had a final three list that includes LSU, Georgia, and the Bearcats and now has made the decision.

It’s commitment No. 2 for Cincinnati in the 2023 class and fills a needed position at the point guard position. Returning leading passer David Dejulius is entering his fifth year in college, as is Indiana transfer Rob Phinisee. And with Mike Saunders now at Utah and Mika Adams-Woods also a senior, there’s plenty of room available for the future for James to come in and have a big role as a freshman in the Big 12.

Of course, the Bearcats would love to have Collier as their starting point guard next season. He’d be the highest-ranked commit in program history and the type of player that’s needed to compete in the Big 12 and not have a long transition process before becoming competitive. James would have to play off-ball more for a year but then can take over the reins as a sophomore.

Cincy is one down and two to go with the trio of prospects. Look for future decisions from Collier and Page to see how good a class this program can really have. But so far, James and Griffith is a nice starting duo to build on.