Jerome James

Jerome Keith James is an American professional basketball player who last played for Atenienses de Manat of the Baloncesto Superior Nacional . Originally from Tampa, Florida, James played college basketball at Florida AampM for three seasons and was the national leader in blocks per game in the 199798 season, his junior year. James declared for the 1998 NBA Draft after his junior year, and the Sacramento Kings selected James in the second round of the draft. Over the course of his career, he has played for the Kings, Seattle SuperSonics and New York Knicks. He has also played for KK Budunost Podgorica and the Harlem Globetrotters.

James was born and raised in Tampa, Florida, one of ten children. His father Jessie was a longshoreman. After graduating from the Pentecostal Christian Academy of Tampa in 1993, James worked unloading trucks at a dairy and feed lot in the Tampa Bay Area and took care of his siblings. A friend of Jamess mother saw James playing pickup basketball at a community center and called Ron Brown, coach of the Florida AampM University Rattlers basketball team. Brown came and saw Jamess basketball skills and immediately offered James an athletic scholarship to Florida AampM.

Source: Wikipedia