The Tumultuous Senior Season of Josiah Jordan-James
Josiah Jordan-James was a five-star respect from Charleston, South Carolina. He came from Porter-Gaud High School and was the number-one player in the state from the 2019 class.
His athleticism and ability to stretch the floor attracted many schools. However, on Nov. 14, 2018, he signed a letter of intent to become a Tennessee Vol.
One thing James impressed the Volunteer program with was his three-point shooting. In his freshman year, the 6-foot-6 stretch player was 37.0% from beyond the arc.
James would continue to impress, having his best statistical output last year. He averaged 10.3 points and 6.0 rebounds in 2021-22. It looked as if 2022-23 would be the icing on the cake for the long-time Volunteer small forward.
However, this is not the case. James has been battling injuries on top of injuries all season, forcing him to miss multiple valuable games like Tennessee's crucial victory over the No. 1 Alabama Crimson Tide on Feb. 15.
Out of the 28 games the Volunteers have played, James has appeared in just 16. The production has still been present when he plays (9.5 ppg). He also leads the team in free throw percentage (90.5%).
James first went through some trouble with an off-season injury throughout the Vols' non-conference schedule. He appeared in five of the non-conference games and played well. Against Florida Gulf Coast, he finished with 18 points and six rebounds. He also had a big-time performance against Colorado in Nashville. He finished with 15 points, eight rebounds, and three steals, tied for a season-high.
He returned to regular minutes when SEC play started and had some great games in January. His season-best game came on the road against LSU, where he finished with 22 points on 56.3% shooting from the field. He also had seven rebounds in the dominant win in Baton Rouge.
However, James got sidelined again with a rough ankle injury against Vanderbilt. Since that game on Feb. 8, he has been listed as day-to-day and has been a game-time decision for every game until now. He hasn't played since the injury in Memorial Gymnasium.
James got back into the mix on Saturday night against South Carolina in his return to the floor. Although the senior season has not been ideal, he can definitely be a big-time factor in March for the conference tournament and NCAA tournament so the Vols can make some runs for some championships.
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