Recruiting Report: 2022 Elmore James IV
The Brush Arcs are heading into the state tournament on a high note. Most recently, the team is coming off an 89-73 win over Kenston Tuesday night. The team is led by Pitt commit John Hugley, who’s in the mix…
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Continue ReadingThe Brush Arcs are heading into the state tournament on a high note. Most recently, the team is coming off an 89-73 win over Kenston Tuesday night. The team is led by Pitt commit John Hugley, who’s in the mix for Ohio’s Mr. Basketball this season. With a relatively younger team in 2020, head coach Chet Mason has relied on some of his freshman and sophomore players to step up in big moments and deliver on some of the biggest stages. One of those players is sophomore Elmore James, a shooting guard who has been a player Mason has watched grow exponentially this season.
“Elmore is a true sophomore with room to grow,” Mason explained. “Elmore has worked on his game and you can tell the difference in his shot this season. His money is his defense. He can guard anyone and he’ll guard the opposing team’s best player every time.”
During the win against Kenston, James had 20 points and was active on the defensive side of the ball in creating turnovers, leading to transition baskets that eventually opened up the game for the Arcs. In 21 games played this season, he’s averaging 17 points and five rebounds per game. He’s a smart player who’s very adept at using his body to shield defenders from making plays on the ball. What’s most impressive about his game is his defensive ability to impact a game within a matter of seconds. He’s even received encouragement from coach Mason, calling him on of the better on-ball defenders he’s coached. That high praise gives him all the confidence he needs.
“It motivates me to play the hardest defense every night,” James said. “I know he’s got big expectations for me to lock up the best players every night. I just take that and I run with it so I just let that sink into the back of my head every game and I just play the hardest defense I can every night.”
With offers from Cleveland State University and Youngstown State University, the recruitment process is just beginning for the 6-foot-2 guard. He said that he’s been in talks with Miami (Ohio) within the last week and that list of schools will certainly grow as time goes on.
The highlight of his sophomore season thus far came on Jan. 28 when he put a career-high and (at the time) a school-record 45 points. As we know, John Hugley recently broke that record by scoring 52 points Feb. 7 against Mayfield. When asked about his career night back in late January, James said that it all started with his defensive efforts.
“My defense led to my offense,” he said of the 45-point performance. “I was playing the hardest defense I could and I was getting a lot of steals. So that led to a lot of fast breaks and I got a lot of layups.”
Congratulations to Brush Sophomore Elmore James IV for breaking the school single game scoring record today. He scored 45 points.
#mambamentality???? pic.twitter.com/faXowQGFla
— chet mason (@ChetMason32) January 29, 2020
As the recruitment process starts to heat up for James, one thing he’s not shy about is putting in the extra work to improve his game. Besides, the off-season work he put in at becoming a more complete player has helped propel his game to another level, while helping lead his team to a 16-5 record this season.
“The main thing I worked on from last year was mostly confidence and being in the gym every day working on my offensive game,” he said. “I just let that motivate me to be the best player I can be and continue to work hard while coming out with a fire every game.”