Joel James Commits to UNC
Posted Oct 2, 2011
He’s one of the biggest basketball stars Palm Beach County has seen in recent years, and Joel James capped off his fast rise to stardom with a verbal commitment to North Carolina. In two years’ time, James has lost some 20 pounds and grown four inches. He’s vastly improved at using his size to clear out space and rebound and score in traffic. And he’s become so well known, the national recruiting sites stopped misspelling his first name — they used to spell it “Joell” — and started paying attention to him. James chose North Carolina over Clemson, FSU, Massachusetts, Miami, South Carolina and UCF. He was the 11th-ranked center in the 2012 class on Rivals and ESPN.
(Palm Beach Post)
Related: Basketball Recruiting, Recruiting Board
Video: Locked On Tar Heels - UNC vs. Duke For Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje?UNC Basketball coach Michael Malone has locked down one teenage frontcourt player while in Spain. The question is, can he land another while he's there...
Wed Apr 29, 2026Video: TarHeel247 Podcast - John Henson Discusses Sayon Keita, Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje, and Others
247Sports director of scouting Adam Finkelstein and UNC basketball legend John Henson discuss 5-star Tar Heel center commitment Sayon Keita, the impact he could have...
Wed Apr 29, 2026
UNC, Duke Basketball Both Recruiting Center Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje
Joaquim Boumtje Boumtje, the 6-11 center for FC Barcelona’s Liga U turns 17 next month and is part of UNC Basketball's search for frontcourt help...
Wed Apr 29, 2026
Video: Locked On Tar Heels - Sayon Keita Commits To UNC Basketball
Michael Malone has moved fast to replace Henri Veesaar in the frontcourt, adding 7-footers Sayon Keita and Cade Bennerman in back-to-back days. Great news for...
Tue Apr 28, 2026