Danes pick up NJ point gaurd

[Mattmo]

I got this from NJHoops this morning:

 

5 foot 11 Leap Academy strong point guard Lance James has made his college pick. James will attend the University of Albany. James was a catalyst for a memorable season for Leap Academy. The relatively new charter school in Camden finished the season with a Group 1 South Jersey championship, record of 24 - 6 and final NJ Hoops ranking of 21st in the state.

 

James averaged 19.4 ppg and was a selected 9th Team All State by NJ Hoops.

 

He was a senior at LEAP this year, so I don't know if he is going to prep and come next year or what, but he definately sounds like another good pickup. He was contacted by St. John's, Wake Forest and Drexel in a feature article I found on him. Addresses a need for you guys, and just futhers what seems to be a stockpile of talent. The Danes just keep rolling them in...

 

http://njhoops.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=555919

 

http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.../603100387/1002

[Patch]

Howard Little will be a wing, Tim Ambrose a 2G ( replace Jamar) and James a PG ( support Lillis and Iati). All three are suppose (?) to be capable of playing higher than the AE. I guess the recruiting for 07/08 is already complete.

 

I guess our National TV exposure has paid off!

 

From Rivals -

 

March 24, 2006

 

Justin Young

Rivals.com Basketball Recruiting Recruiting Analyst

 

The road to LEAP Academy in Camden, N.J. wasn't the road Lance James wanted to take. Hurricane Katrina's impact reached James, who lived in Georgia at the time of the disaster.

 

Lance James had a huge senior season.

James lost seven family members in the flooding the consumed New Orleans. James's parents immediately went to Louisiana to handle the affairs of the family. James moved to New Jersey to live with his godfather, whose own children attended LEAP.

 

Amidst the tragedy, James took advantage of a new team, a new home and a new opportunity for life past high school.

 

"I realized that I have to be all about business. I had to put it all aside and come up here with a sense of urgency," James said.

 

That urgency helped propel LEAP to the state championship game in New Jersey.

James averaged 27 points and seven assists for LEAP head coach Marco Marcos as well as maintaining a 3.4 grade point average and scoring an 1100 on the SAT.

 

"He's a good Southern kid," Marcos said. "He's got the grades, he's humble and he's a great player. Let me put it this way, if my son turns out like Lance, then I'm doing okay."

 

A big time athlete, James can play above the rim despite his small size. Explosive with the ball, he mixes it up with a dependable jumper and smart with the ball in his hands. Marcos said James battled against Jersey's best all season long.

 

"Miles Beatty, Corey Fisher, Eugene Harvey. You name it, he put up big numbers on them. 35, 41, 47, 37, 33. Lance put up big time numbers against anybody we played," Marcos said.

 

Since moving to New Jersey from Chapel Hill High School in metro Atlanta last year, James fell off the recruiting radar. But word is getting out on James. Marcos said Wake Forest, St. John's, Drexel, James Madison and George Mason have all shown interest of late.

 

"He is basically looking for the complete package in a school," Marcos said. "He wants to find a place where he can be successful socially, academically and basketball wise."

 

Marcos said James helped put LEAP on the map. Now the focus is putting James on the recruiting map for more high-major schools.

 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

ScoutHoops list him as a 2 star recruit.

Edited June 25, 2006 by Patch

[GreatDanes06]

so wait im lost here...

 

Ambrose will be going to school here in the fall. But he will not eligable to play till the 07-08 season unless his SAT scores he just took are on par...am i correct with that?

 

Is James going to be coming in this year or the 07-08 year or doing almost the same thing as Ambrose?

 

Who is Howard Little?

 

thanks

[Patch]

(Camden?) Star Ledger a preview of thge States.....

 

Group 1

 

Sunday, February 26, 2006

 

An inside look at the tournament's teams and players

 

TEAM TO WATCH

Don't expect Bloomfield Tech to suffer a sectional upset as it did last year against Newark University, 57-54, in the quarterfinals. That was a junior-dominated squad with tremendous talent but some inexperience in its end game. That's no longer the case. Desean Butler, Casiem Drummond, Rashon Dwight and Dante Rollins know how to finish teams off now. Look for a third Group 1 crown in four years for Bloomfield Tech, ranked No. 1 in the state entering the tournament.

OTHERS TO WATCH

Newark Science, Burlington City, Wood-Ridge and Metuchen.

 

DARK HORSE

LEAP Academy.

 

PLAYER TO WATCH

Bloomfield Tech's Desean Butler seems to have absorbed all the good lessons passed along by the 2003 and `04 championship teams while developing traits of his own that will be of great value to next season's team. Those teams, for instance, often allowed inferior teams to hang around deeper into games than should have been allowed. The 6-6 Butler uses his well-rounded game to go early for the throat and not let go.

 

BEST OUTSIDE

There are a number of talented guards in the group, but perhaps the most effective over the last half of the season has been 5-11 senior Lance James of LEAP Academy in Camden. He seems to always be aware of the open man (averaging almost 10 assists in January), but also quick to remind defenders that he also does a fine job of creating his own points. He's helped make LEAP a major player in this group.........

[B9j2j6s]

I would be intrested to know if James will prep for a year, or will he red shirt or somthing to that extent?

 

Regardless this looks like another great guard in the UA system. Now I wonder what Brown will do with his July, focus on 2008-09 class?

[pool man]

i have to believe James will prep just like howard little. We are going to be good for a long time.

[statefan]

I'm a little (maybe a lot) confused, so please correct anything i'm stating here that is incorrect.

 

We've received three verbals (Howard Little, Tim Ambrose and Lance James) for players who will not be able to go on scholarship until the 07-08 academic year. All three have already graduated high school. Little is going to prep school; Ambrose is coming to UAlbany to take classes, but not on an athletic scholarship, and James ?, but apparantly he is a good student. And, we have only 2 seniors on the 06-07 team who will go off scholarship.

[NYR]

I'm a little (maybe a lot) confused, so please correct anything i'm stating here that is incorrect.

 

We've received three verbals (Howard Little, Tim Ambrose and Lance James) for players who will not be able to go on scholarship until the 07-08 academic year.  All three have already graduated high school.  Little is going to prep school; Ambrose is coming to UAlbany to take classes, but not on an athletic scholarship, and James ?, but apparantly he is a good student.  And, we have only 2 seniors on the 06-07 team who will go off scholarship.

15148[/snapback]

 

There has been speculation on this board that Bauman will graduate after this year and not return leaving 3 openings for 07/08.

[Patch]

PrepStars.com lists Lance James of Leap Academy as # 212 nationally, just for comparison sake (and nothing else) they ranked Edwin Ubiles Siena's Top Recruit #291.

 

Remember take all these rating sites with a "grain of salt".

 

(Perpstars list HS Srs and Prep School players together.)

 

From Prepstars

James might be the best little guard no one has heard about. It will be extremely interesting to watch how his college career unfolds.

Edited July 12, 2006 by Patch

[statefan]

Just to futher the "grain of salt", I heard a commentator on ESPN radio a few weeks ago remark that Adam Morrison was rated in the 320s by one of these services during his senior year of high school.

[slickwilly]

PrepStars.com lists Lance James of Leap Academy as # 212 nationally, just for comparison sake (and nothing else) they ranked Edwin Ubiles Siena's Top Recruit #291.

 

Remember take all these rating sites with a "grain of salt".

 

(Perpstars list HS Srs and Prep School players together.)

 

From Prepstars

James might be the best little guard no one has heard about. It will be extremely interesting to watch how his college career unfolds.

15346[/snapback]

 

Any of the other Albany recruits on their list? Ambrose, Little, Gifford, etc.

Edited July 13, 2006 by slickwilly

[Dane Pound]

The better they say our recruits are the more I believe Hoopscoop:D

 

 

169 - Tim Ambrose

254 - Brett Gifford

376 - Howard Little

455 - Reid Anderson

[slickwilly]

Not sure what type of competition he was going up against, but his stats were pretty damn good regardless of who they played.

 

15.9 PPG

7.1 RPG

8.6 APG

3.3 SPG

0.5 BPG

62% FG

88% FT

57% 3ptFG

 

Plus they have him listed at 6'0 195 lbs. I think Ambrose is listed at 6'0 205 lbs.

They must be pretty strong dudes to be about 200 lbs at 6'0. Plus the scouting reports say they both can play above the rim. I can't help but get excited about these guys.

 

 

http://www.maxpreps.com/FanPages/Player.mx...ac-685844dbda01

Edited July 13, 2006 by slickwilly

[Patch]

While those stats are good they are partial stats only through part of January I think his final scoring avg was a little higher due to increased production at the end of the season and in the play offs. But I'll take those stats anyday, it's evident he racks up assists.

 

It should be interesting to see what happens with Ambrose and James.

 

I know Ambrose will be on campus this year and have the benefit of working the year with the team and getting adjusted to the demands placed on them by the coaching staff.

 

I don't know what James is doing but I know it sounds like he's not a partial qualifier so I wonder what he's doing this season.

 

It would be great to have them both at all the practices.