As you might expect, Olympia High senior Edgerrin James Jr., son of the Pro Football Hall of Fame running back he is named after, was quite a football player in his formative years.
E.J., better known by his nickname Jizzle, was a dynamic youth quarterback for Orlando’s South Central Tigers. He knew the game well enough to call many of the plays in a memorable seventh-grade season with his famed father as his head coach.
But that was the end of following in his father’s footsteps. From eighth grade on Jizzle has focused on basketball and developed into one of the top college prospects in the country with his dad cheering him on every step of the way.
Edgerrin does have a son playing college football. Eden James, who starred for Treasure Coast High School of Port St. Lucie, was the second leading rusher (75 carries, 443 yards) for Howard (5-6) as a freshman this season.
Jizzle went another route.
“We knew seventh grade would be Jizzle’s last year of football,” the elder Edgerrin said in a recent interview with the Orlando Sentinel. “That was predetermined. His mom always talked about him being a great basketball player. She’d send me videos of him shooting baskets when I was off playing [in the NFL].
“He created his own path. He’s doing something that I never did.”
James, a 6-foot-2, 192-pound guard with a football physique, is a prime Florida Mr. Basketball candidate heading into this week’s 46th Rotary Tip-Off Classic at Winter Park High School. The Titans (1-0), No. 5 in SourceHoops’ preseason Class 7A rankings, play Sanford Seminole (1-1) in a quarterfinal game Thursday night at 8:30.
The three-day, eight-team tournament also has 2A No. 1 Orlando Christian Prep (1-0 going into a Tuesday game), along with Kissimmee Osceola (1-1), Spruce Creek (1-0) of Port Orange, Daytona Beach Mainland (1-1), Boone (0-1) and Winter Park (0-2).
James did what he does so well, score, in Olympia’s regular season opener. He poured in 38 points as the Titans held off a Leesburg comeback to win 72-69 in last week’s Metro vs. Florida Challenge.
Leesburg had the ball with a chance to take the lead, but James stole the ball with about 20 seconds to go and delivered an assist to Kevins Charles for a clinching layup.
Edgerrin, who set several Miami Hurricanes rushing records before being a first-round pick by the Indianapolis Colts in 1999, said seeing his son develop into a complete guard has always been the mission since he hired Antonio Owens as a personal trainer six years ago.
“I always wanted to play basketball, but I wasn’t good enough,” he said. “But I know a lot of NBA players and I know the game. We’ve laid out what it takes to be an NBA point guard. All our practices are with that in mind. We know you can go out and score 50 points in a game, but if you’re not ready to do all the things it takes to make it to the next level you really haven’t done anything.”
Jizzle averaged 25.4 points per game as a junior to lead a 21-8 team that captured the first district title in program history. He routinely overpowers opponents with his physicality, agility and offensive repertoire. But there’s more than that to his game. He also averaged 4.5 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 2.3 steals last season.
“You have to be able to get your shot off at the next level,” said his father. “But you also have to play extremely good defense. And you have to be able to control the game and lead your team. Jizzle can do all of those things.”
Playing quarterback strengthened Jizzle’s ability to galvanize team chemistry, and the physicality of football shows in the way he plays basketball.
“Look at the Allen Iverson’s of the world who were true football players,” Edgerrin said.
“If you have the football toughness and the basketball skill level, that’s what can make you a great player at the guard position. Jizzle has the body control that makes a defender’s size not matter. They’re not going to break him down.”
Jizzle signed with Cincinnati this month with a number of factors influencing his selection of the Bearcats over the likes of Georgia, Florida and LSU. One being the proximity to Indianapolis, where Edgerrin played the first seven of his 11 NFL seasons.
Also, Jizzle’s Florida Rebels travel team coach, Steve Reece (also the Oak Ridge High coach), is from Cincinnati.
Before Jizzle made his college decision he and his family had to decide if he would stay at Olympia, a traditional high school, or follow the trend of top-flight prospects to sign on with academy and independent programs that play national schedules.
James is rated by ESPN as the nation’s No. 59 Class of 2023 prospect. The only Florida seniors above him on that list are Montverde Academy teammates Kwame Evans, who came to the Eagles as a junior from Baltimore, and Sean Stewart, another Central Florida standout who transferred from Windermere this year.
“I just wanted to finish high school with my coach [Rob Gordon],” Jizzle said shortly after the school year began. “He believed in me. He helped make me the player I am today. I just want to give him a [state championship] ring.”
Edgerrin maintains that his son turned down a “ton of opportunities” to switch schools.
“We’re loyal people,” he said. “Coach Gordon did everything he said he would do as a coach. He committed to us. We were committed to him.”
Having a four-year player as talented as James can’t be taken for granted.
“He’s a product of his dad,” Gordon said. “Olympia basketball is very fortunate to have the best player in the state having a dad who has those type of values. It’s special.”
Rotary Tip-Off Classic
At Winter Park High School
Here are the quarterfinal pairings:
Wednesday
Spruce Creek vs. Osceola, 7 p.m.
Orlando Christian Prep vs. Boone, 8:30
Thursday
Wednesday losers, 5
Winter Park vs. Mainland, 7
Seminole vs. Olympia, 8:30
Note: There are three games Friday, including semifinals at 6:30 and 8; and three more Saturday, with a fifth-place game at 5, third-place game at 6:30 and championship game at 8.
This report was first published at Orlandosentinel.com. Varsity Content Editor Buddy Collings can be reached by email at bcollings@orlandosentinel.com.
