CINCINNATI — In the Cincinnati Bearcats’ first season in the Big 12, one of their most important contributors is a true freshman: Point guard Jizzle James.
“Being a freshman point guard, I’m not going to say it’s really hard but you have to step up to the challenge,” Jizzle James said.
“His work ethic is different than any freshman I’ve ever seen. His focus is different than maybe any freshman I’ve ever seen. His focus is different than maybe any freshman I’ve ever seen,” Head Coach Wes Miller said.
Miller calls the Big 12 “the best league in college basketball.”
“I knew hard work is what it would take to get to that level. It just kept a mindset, try to get better everyday,” Jizzle James said.
Jizzle was taught the mindset of hard work from one of the NFL’s best work horses: His dad. Jizzle is the son of Pro Football Hall of Fame running back Edgerrin James.
“2014 we started tracking (Jizzle’s workout) days. He hadn’t missed a day... all the way through high school. He don’t get days off, but that’s the only way,” Edgerrin said.
“There was really never no pressure, because I believe that pressure makes diamonds,” Jizzle said.
A self-proclaimed "chill" college kid, Jizzle’s birth name is Edgerrin James Jr. So where did the name Jizzle come from?
“Jizzle is like my on-court persona,” Jizzle said.
“Oh Jizzle?! I was creating a monster with that name right there. We had to create something special. We had my same name. I always tell him that’s his alter ego, when he turns into Jizzle he turns into a whole other person,” Edgerrin said.
“Being Jizzle is just being like on the court just playing hard expressing myself. I got the same name as my dad so he tried to, he gave me a name who I could be myself. So I use that and just use it just to play with an extra edge on the court,” Jizzle said.
“He’s not just an NFL Hall of Famer’s son, he’s a damn good athlete and a damn good competitor himself and he's out to kind of show the world that,” Miller said.
As much as Jizzle is his own man, his tough style of play might just remind some fans of what his father looked like on the goal line.
“I always had that. Like, not scared of contacting me and I used it to my advantage. So like it helped me out, help me out big time on, on the court,” Jizzle said, crediting his youth football skills.
Despite being one of the best running backs to ever play the game, Edgerrin admires Jizzle’s athletic career.
“I've always wanted to be a basketball player, so I'm like reliving it through him,” Edgerrin said. “Just get to see him courtside is crazy. It's all a blessing.”
Even Hall of Famers can be their son’s biggest fan.
