Aziaha James is an American college basketball player for the NC State Wolfpack of the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
| No. 10 – NC State Wolfpack | |
|---|---|
| Position | Guard |
| League | Atlantic Coast Conference |
| Personal information | |
| Nationality | American |
| Listed height | 5 ft 8 in (1.73 m) |
| Career information | |
| High school | Princess Anne (Virginia Beach, Virginia) |
| College | NC State (2021–present) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
High school career
editJames played basketball for Princess Anne High School in Virginia Beach, Virginia. As a junior, she repeated as the Daily Press All-Tidewater Player of the Year and was named Virginia High School League Class 5 Player of the Year.[1] Four days after the death of her brother, James scored a career-high 41 points in a quarterfinal win at the Class 5 state tournament.[2] She helped her team win the state title in each of her four seasons and its eighth straight as a senior.[3] Rated a four-star recruit by ESPN, she committed to play college basketball for NC State.[4][5]
College career
editAs a freshman at NC State, James averaged 4.2 points per game and was named to the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) All-Freshman Team.[6] In her sophomore season, she averaged 6.8 points and 2.3 assists per game, primarily coming off the bench.[7] As a junior, James entered a leading role and was named first-team All-ACC. She helped NC State reach the Final Four of the 2024 NCAA tournament, its first appearance since 1998, and earned most outstanding player honors for the Portland 4 Regional.[8]
Personal life
editJames' older brother, Ashley "AJ" James, committed to play college basketball for Missouri State but died in an accidental shooting in 2020, before entering college.[9]
In April 2024, James attended Kelsey Plum's second annual Dawg Class, a 3-day camp with the purpose of helping top women college athletes transition from collegiate to professional basketball.[10] The 2024 camp was held at the IMG Academy and sponsored by Under Armour.[10]
Career statistics
edit| GP | Games played | GS | Games started | MPG | Minutes per game | RPG | Rebounds per game |
| APG | Assists per game | SPG | Steals per game | BPG | Blocks per game | PPG | Points per game |
| TO | Turnovers per game | FG% | Field-goal percentage | 3P% | 3-point field-goal percentage | FT% | Free-throw percentage |
| Bold | Career best | ° | League leader |
College
edit| Year | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | TO | PPG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021–22 | NC State | 25 | 0 | 9.5 | 42.6 | 29.3 | 38.1 | 1.6 | 0.6 | 0.6 | 0.1 | 0.5 | 4.2 |
| 2022–23 | NC State | 32 | 6 | 18.8 | 40.7 | 28.8 | 63.6 | 2.9 | 2.3 | 1.2 | 0.3 | 1.3 | 6.8 |
| 2023–24 | NC State | 38 | 38 | 31.8 | 41.6 | 34.2 | 78.1 | 4.6 | 2.9 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 2.2 | 16.8 |
| Career | 95 | 44 | 21.5 | 41.5 | 32.4 | 70.5 | 3.2 | 2.1 | 1.0 | 0.2 | 1.5 | 10.1 | |
| Statistics retrieved from Sports-Reference.[11] | |||||||||||||
References
edit- ^ "Princess Anne's Aziaha James adds VHSL state Class 5 Player of Year to many honors". The Virginian-Pilot. April 3, 2020. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ "Princess Anne's Aziaha James persevered, became the All-Tidewater Girls Basketball Player of the Year". Daily Press. March 20, 2020. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ "Princess Anne wins 8th consecutive girls basketball state championship". The Virginian-Pilot. February 20, 2021. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ "Aziaha James 2021 High School Girls' Basketball Profile". ESPN. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ Friedlander, Brett (May 30, 2020). "Women's Basketball Lands Another 5-Star Recruit". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ Rubama, Larry (December 19, 2023). "Former Princess Anne star Aziaha James returns to Hampton Roads to lead No. 3 N.C. State against ODU". The Virginian-Pilot. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ Ellis, Ben; Trotter, Colby (March 9, 2024). "NC State women's basketball dominates Florida State, advances to ACC title game". Technician. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ Philppou, Alexa (March 31, 2024). "MOP Aziaha James, NC State rout Texas, reach Final Four". ESPN. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ Pyrtle, Bryan (March 6, 2024). "NC State's Aziaha James fueled by tragedy, unfinished business in breakout season". 247Sports. Retrieved March 31, 2024.
- ^ a b "(Dawg) Class Is Back in Session". Under Armour. April 19, 2024. Retrieved April 20, 2024.
- ^ "Aziaha James College Stats". Sports-Reference. Retrieved April 11, 2024.