Colorado State University Athletics
Rams sign Deion James to National Letter of Intent
5/4/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - Colorado State men's basketball has signed forward Deion James (Tucson, Ariz./Empire (Pima JC)) to a National Letter of Intent, head coach Larry Eustachy announced. James will join the program as a junior for the 2017-18 year and have two years of eligibility remaining.
"We are extremely excited to add Deion to our program," Eustachy commented. "He brings a versatile skill set along with his size that isn't something you see often. Not only was he the NJCAA Division II National Player of the Year, but he led his team to the most wins in school history as well as a berth in the national tournament. He is a winner and a team player that we are beyond excited to add to the family."
The 6-8 forward spent the past season at Pima Junior College, garnering numerous honors including the NJCAA Division II National Player of the Year. Starting in 33 games, James averaged 20.6 points (tops in the league), 9.6 rebounds (No. 2), 3.5 assists and 1.0 blocks per game while also being named First Team NJCAA All-American, First Team All-Region and the Region I / Arizona Community College Athletic Association (ACCAC) Co-Player of the Year. James recorded 20 double-doubles while helping the Aztecs to a 22-win season, the most for the program since 1989-90, and 13 ACCAC conference wins, the best win total since the 2000-01 season. Pima won the Region 1 Championship after entering as the No. 2 seed and earned the No. 8 seed in the Division II National Tournament. In the Region 1 Tournament, James averaged 26 points, 11.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, 2.5 steals and 2.5 blocks, earning the Championship game's Most Valuable Player award.
For the season, James finished among the top of the national leaderboard in several categories. He ranked sixth in free throws made - 178 - while shooting 77.4 percent from the charity stripe. He also finished in the in the top 10 nationally in points scored (680) and defensive rebounds (236).
As a freshman in 2015-16, he played one year at North Carolina A&T out of high school, seeing action in 21 games and averaging 5.5 minutes, 1.3 points and 1.5 rebounds a game.
A four-year player at Empire High School, James played in 103 games and averaged 16.0 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists for his career. In his senior year in 2014-15, James averaging 21.2 points and 12.2 rebounds per contest, leading the Ravens to a 17-10 record and earning All-Southern Arizona First Team honors in one of the toughest sections in the state. He also was selected to Arizona Basketball Coaches Association Senior All-Star Game. This followed a junior season where he averaged 21.1 points and 12.6 boards a game.
James chose CSU over Fresno State, Washington State and Southern Utah. He makes the fifth player in this year's signing class for the Rams, joining forwards Lonzia Tyson and Logan Ryan and guards Kris Martin and Raquan Mitchell as part of this season's signing class.
