Recruiting Report: James Nworah (2018)
High school basketball provides an opportunity for everyone to play the game they love and try to enhance their future through it. One of the best things about covering it is seeing all of the kids from different backgrounds get the same opportunity to make a statement with their game.
However, for North Cross big man James Nworah, he has an opportunity to get an American education through it, something not everyone from his native Nigeria gets the opportunity to. After helping lead North Cross to the VISAA Division 3 state semifinals, he isn’t wasting his summer as he’s been in the gym almost every day and has been making a statement with the Roanoke Pacers doing so.
“My summer right now is just basketball,” Nworah said. “My goals are just to continue to get better, get looks from schools and hopefully get an offer.”
It hasn’t gone unnoticed by college coaches either. The 6’6” power forward is seeing interest from a number of schools at different levels, including, but not limited to, Radford, VMI, Roanoke College, Guilford, Virginia Wesleyan and Hampden Sydney.
Nworah was one of best post players in the VISAA last season.While coaches are intrigued by his physical strength and ability to eat the glass on both ends, he knows he still has a lot to improve on moving forward if he’s going to be ready to play at the collegiate level after next school year.
“My handle needs to improve and I need to keep working on my shot,” he said. “They know me as a rebounder and shot blocker, but I have to keep getting better at making close range shots from five and six feet.”
While he’s still raw offensively, that doesn’t stop Nworah from being a productive double-double machine. Whether he’s having plays run for him or not, he’s still a high volume guy that works in the paint on both ends of the floor.
“I know I can rebound and block shots at any level, even against guys that are bigger and taller than me. I think that’s my biggest strength right now,”
While his numbers show that he’s an energy guy, his body language doesn’t always reflect that. Nworah leads by example, but isn’t very vocal, which has led some to question his motor on the court. However, if you talk to anyone that knows the kid personally, there’s no doubt that he’s a hard working kid both on and off the court.
“My work ethic is probably my most underrated quality. Everyone thinks I’m lazy on the court because I’m quiet, but I’m here to work and my coaches can attest to that. I’m ready to put in the work, all the time and everyday.”
Nworah is still growing, as he’s sprouted up a couple of inches from 6’4” to 6’6” in the past couple of seasons. If he continues to improve on his offensive skill set and stays productive the rest of the summer and next season, there’s a very good chance that he could end up on the radar for a lot of scholarship level programs in need of an athletic big man that can hold down the paint.