MANSFIELD, Ohio — Mansfield Senior was on life support. Naradain James administered a timely shot of adrenaline and resuscitated the season.
Senior High had lost its first three games of the year and trailed Columbus South 36-28 at halftime on Dec. 22 in Columbus when James breathed life into the Tygers. He scored 10 of his game-high 28 points in the third quarter as Mansfield Senior outscored the Bulldogs 26-8 in the period en route to an 83-78 win.
Senior High hasn’t lost since and James has never played better.
The Richland Bank Athlete of the Week, James is averaging 23.5 points a game on 56 percent shooting during Senior High’s current four-game winning streak. He led the Tygers (4-3) to a pair of victories last week, scoring 19 points and grabbing 11 rebounds in a 59-46 win over Wooster and dropping 26 points and swiping 14 boards in Saturday’s 59-56 win at Toledo Scott.
Through seven games, the rangy 6-foot-5 senior swingman is averaging 20.4 points per game on 53 percent shooting and 11.3 rebounds a night.
“I haven’t played with a lot of these guys, so it took us some time before we started clicking,” said James, one of two holdovers from last year’s Elite Eight team (senior guard Asante’ Wilder is the other). “It’s not that we had to build chemistry because I’m tight with these guys, but it took some time for us to get used to each other.”
The Tygers opened the season with a loss to crosstown rival Madison. His inexperienced teammates deferred to him that night and by his own admission, James didn’t play well.
“We could have played a lot better against Madison,” James said. “I forced a few shots and I just don’t think we played as hard as we needed to.”
A night after the 52-43 loss to the Rams, Senior High hit the road for a showdown against North Canton Hoover at the Malone Hall of Fame Classic. James had 26 points and 13 rebounds in the 51-48 double overtime defeat.
The Tygers dipped to 0-3 the following weekend, falling at Ashland 59-57. James had 18 points and 12 rebounds, but Senior High couldn’t hold onto a third-quarter lead against the veteran-laden Arrows.
“Even though we lost those games, I thought we did some things well,” James said. “We didn’t play poorly, we just needed a little bit of time for everyone to get comfortable with their roles.”
James’ role this season is vastly different from the one he filled last year. He started 17 of 27 games and averaged 8.0 points and 4.5 rebounds a night.
“Last year if I had a bad game we had enough firepower that we could still beat teams pretty easily. We had 10 seniors and a lot of talent,” James said. “The margin for error isn’t as great this year. I wouldn’t say there is added pressure. It just helps me stay more focused and on top of my game.”
Summer workouts against his older brother, Rasheed Brooks, have helped James fine-tune his game, too. Brooks, a 2012 Lexington graduate, verbally committed to Ole Miss last June and is in his second year with Southwest Tennessee Community College. He averages 12.9 points a game for the 11-1 Saluqis, who are ranked ninth in the most recent National Junior College Athletic Association national poll.
“We’re really close. We talk after just about every game,” James said. “Going against him in the summer has really helped me. Most of the guys we play against aren’t going to Ole Miss. Playing well against him has helped my confidence.”
So who wins in a game of one-on-one?
“He wins most of the time, but once in a while I’ll get hot and beat him,” James said. “Eventually he decides enough is enough, though.”
Like Brooks, James is considering the junior college route. A handful of schools have shown interest, but he hasn’t received any offers yet.
“Junior college has worked out for Rasheed,” James said. “He’s playing on one of the best teams in the country and he’s committed to play for a Division I school.”
His college plans will have to wait for now. James is more interested in helping the Tygers return to the top of the Ohio Cardinal Conference standings. Senior High, which had to forfeit its OCC title last winter for using an ineligible player, is two games behind co-leaders Madison and Ashland.
“We dug ourselves a hole, but I still think we can challenge,” James said. “It took us a minute to find our footing, but we’re playing well now.”
