The recruitment of James Graham III takes off

There aren't many players who have seen their stock soar with college coaches like 2021 forward James Graham III.

Coming off a big junior season at Nicolet in the Milwaukee area, the 6-foot-8 Graham has racked up nearly 20 high-major scholarship offers in just under two months even without getting to play for his summer team Wisconsin Playground Club in Under Armour's Association.

“The biggest thing about my game that I hear from every coach is they stress how versatile I am," Graham told Rivals.com. "Not to sound cocky, but you know they say to stop that player from getting to his spots? My biggest strength is that I don’t have a spot. I’m really comfortable and efficient no matter where I am and no matter what shot I take I feel like it’s a shot I’m capable of making.

“I like to call myself a four-level scorer. I can score in the low post, I score in the mid-range, I shoot the three, then I shoot the deep three - and I feel I do it all efficiently.”

Rutgers and DePaul offered early in Graham's sophomore year, then Milwaukee offered last summer. In early May, Maryland offered and the avalanche started. Arizona State, Auburn, Butler, Cincinnati, Florida State, Georgetown, Georgia, Iowa, Marquette, Michigan State, Missouri, Oregon, Xavier, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech and Wake Forest all followed with offers of their own.

“For me, it’s not wild at all. I’m a player who prides myself on confidence," Graham said. "The first thing that Coach (Mark) Turgeon from Maryland told me was that he saw the change in my body. He saw the change in how I move and the change in my determination and how I look when I play. The fact that you can see that, it’s obvious. The love has always been there, and I just went to work and got better. I changed my game so much in a short period of time to fit the more modern era.”

Graham discussed his impressions of a handful of programs recruiting him.

Florida State: “The thing about them first of all is that the staff is so relatable. I’m a black man in America and they are too, and they succeeded. Coach (Leonard Hamilton), people always say he’s the best black coach of all time, but he’s making a case for the best coach of all time. He’s such a good guy, such a good coach. Their system, I love to shoot the ball and I love to be efficient and that’s their offense. They stress (to) shoot the ball early, pick up 94 feet and play super-fast and super fun. They are entertaining.”

Marquette: “I used to always want to go to Marquette and then I felt, 'Well, oh they don’t want me.' Then they offered me, which was dope and it was on my birthday as well. Coach (Steve Wojciechowski), he played at Duke, he is a great coach and he lets his players who believes can handle it go to work. You see with Markus Howard who takes step-backs from half court and it is a shot Coach Wojo knows he can make so he lets him shoot it. That’s what I like because I take tough shots.

"I have a nice off-the-dribble three-point game, that’s my favorite part of the game. I love to get my shot off from three and I feel coach Wojo is a coach who would let me get my shots off like that. Coach Jake (Presutti), Coach (Dwayne) Killings and Coach (Justin) Gainey are good dudes and they are close. They know what I’m going through, because they are probably going through it themselves.”

Maryland: “With them guys, they are like the first offer that I felt was real, except for Milwaukee. They are my first high-major offer that was really legit where they were set with me. Also, Maryland is a fit that is just like there. They stress to me how versatile I am, but I like how versatile they are. No matter what teams throw at Maryland they are so good at adjusting. When they need to speed up, they speed up. When they need to slow down, they slow down. That’s the type of player I am.”

Michigan State: “The fact that Coach (Tom) Izzo is there, just getting an offer from him made me smile because he’s such a legendary type of person and he carries himself so well. Also Coach D.J. (Stephens) is real close with Coach Ike (summer coach Duane Wilson).

"It is Michigan State. They are one of the most winning schools, they are always somewhere in the NCAA Tournament and are like a blueblood. That’s what kids want. They don’t offer that many kids for a class, so it makes you feel super special.”

Milwaukee: “I love Milwaukee, I love Coach (Pat) Baldwin and I love all of his assistants. Coach (Terrance) McGee, Coach Paris (Parham) and all of those guys are good people. I love the thought of hometown hero type of thing and the vibe about it.”

Vanderbilt: “When I talk to Vanderbilt, they don’t talk about being a good college player, they talk about being a pro. That resonates with me, because everything I do, I go into it wanting to get better and get to the next level. So when I go to college of course my mind is going to be on getting to the NBA Draft.

"They are the school that is stressing to me the most that they train pros. They don’t train college players, they train pros. That’s big to me. (Jerry Stackhouse) has been there, he’s done everything and been with a lot of teams. He’s done it all in terms of how he scored, how he played, the style of play it shows you that (Vanderbilt) could be a place to go and get developed.”

Graham is one of the most engaging and thoughtful players that Rivals.com has spoken with from the class of 2021. He's digging into his recruitment and doing what he can to build meaningful relationships during a time when he can't take visits.

During the course of the conversation, Graham said that he felt most of the schools involved were serious about him but mentioned that the efforts from Florida State, Maryland and Vanderbilt stood out.

Next, he hopes to cut things down to five or six programs and take official visits. Ideally, he'll decide before the start of his senior season.

“I want to go into my senior year committed, or I’m at least going to commit before my basketball season," he said. "But if in some way, shape or form I felt my recruitment wasn’t over by then I wouldn’t commit.”