Josiah-Jordan James plans to ‘run it back’ with Tennessee basketball

Rick Barnes and the Tennessee basketball program received some good news Wednesday afternoon when guard Josiah-Jordan James announced his return for a fifth season on Rocky Top.

One more year🙏🏾🧡 pic.twitter.com/F1moV55WI2

— Josiah-Jordan James (@jjjames30) May 31, 2023

James recently went through the NBA Draft evaluation process, which included participation in the NBA G League Combine as well as individual workouts with multiple NBA teams including Dallas, Portland and Milwaukee.

“I’m excited and blessed to be able to represent Tennessee for one more year,” James said through a Tennessee release. “After last season, I talked with the coaching staff about how important it was for me to go through the draft evaluation process and get NBA feedback, since I wasn’t able to do that last offseason.

“I also knew that the coaches here had to build a full roster for this year and prepare for the possibility that I might not be back. I love the pieces they’ve put together, and I’m eager to join this new group of teammates for one more run.”

As James noted, as his decision dragged on, Tennessee’s coaching staff had to turn their eyes to next year. With that in mind, while James explored his options, Tennessee added three transfers; Jordan Gainey, Dalton Knecht and Chris Ledlum.

Adding that trio, along with the incoming freshman in the 2023 signing class, put Tennessee at the limit of 13 scholarship players. At that point it seemed a foregone conclusion that James’ Tennessee career was over. Apparently things started to change when James didn’t get the feedback he was hoping to from NBA teams. Allegedly several teams expressed interest in signing James to a two-way contract, but it doesn’t appear that he got any kind of guarantees that made him comfortable enough to stay in the draft.

So as a result the Vols’ now have one of the most veteran backcourts in all of college basketball with a pair of fifth year seniors in James and Santiago Vescovi. If junior point guard Zakai Zeigler can return to form from an ACL tear Tennessee could truly have one of the best backcourts in the nation next season.

James over four seasons at Tennessee made 87 starts in 108 games, averaging 27.9 minutes per game. He scored 9.0 points per game for his career, shooting 38.0 percent from the field and 32.5 percent from the 3-point line. He averaged 5.7 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 1.2 steals per game, too.

James was a five-star prospect in the 2019 recruiting class out of Porter-Gaud School in Charleston, S.C. He’s played in 100 career games at Tennessee, averaging 8.8 points, 5.9 rebounds and 2.1 steals in 27.9 minutes per game, starting 81 times.

He averaged 7.4 points and 5.5 rebounds as a freshman in 2019-20, then 8.0 points and 6.5 rebounds as a sophomore in 2020-21. He jumped to 10.3 points and 6.0 rebounds in 29.0 minutes per game last season, then averaged 10.0 points and 4.7 rebounds this season.

The right knee scope he had in May was still an issue in October, when James missed the preseason with knee soreness. He missed eight games during the regular season with the knee issue then four more games in February with an ankle sprain.

He played 25.2 minutes per game this season, starting 14 times in his 24 appearances. He shot 31.3 percent from the 3-point line and 37.2 percent from the field. 

James said in February that after his playing days are over, he wants to get into coaching.