Stanford women get first commitment for 2010

June 29, 5:20 PMStanford Cardinal Basketball ExaminerJake Curtis

Previous Next

Comment Print Email RSS Subscribe

Subscribe

Get alerts when there is a new article from the Stanford Cardinal Basketball Examiner. Read Examiner.com's terms of use.

Email Address   Include other special offers from Examiner.com Terms of Use

 

Stanford women's basketball received its first verbal commitment for the class of 2010 when junior guard Sara James of Oak Ridge High School in El Dorado, Calif., said over the weekend she would attend Stanford. James confirmed her commitment via a Twitter message on Monday.

"Simply put there is no other place like Stanford," James said Monday via email.  "Its combination of both academic and athletic excellence cannot compare with any other institutions.  With the experienced coaches and supportive program, Stanford is on a totally different level."

It may be interesting to long-time Stanford women's basketball fans that James attended Oak Ridge High School.  Jennifer Azzi, the star of Stanford's 1990 national championship team who was recently inducted into the Women's Basketball Hall of Fame, attended Oak Ridge High School.   Azzi's Oka Ridge High School was in Tennessee, however, and James' Oak Ridge High is in the Sacramento area.

James, a 5-10 guard, averaged 20.9 points and 10.6 rebounds as a junior this season while helping Oak Ridge to the Sac-Joaquin Section Division II championship.   She was also the NorCalPreps.com Division II player of the year, beating out McDonald's All-American DeNesha Stallworth of Pinole Valley for the honor.  Oak Ridge reached the Northern California Division II championship game before losing to Carondelet.

James was not ranked among the nation's top 100 junior prospects by ESPN.com, but the San Francisco Chronicle referred to her in March as "one of the most highly recruited juniors in the country."  ESPN.com reported Cal, Vanderbilt, Arizona State and Utah were the other schools James considered.  It also reported James was notified by Stanford in early June that she had been admitted, at which point she was offered a scholarship by Stanford.

James' commitment is not binding.  She cannot officially sign a letter of intent until November.

See video on James following the NorCal Division II title game