Remembering Ashley James: Top 10 Games of No. 10

August 9, 2020 would've marked the 20th birthday of Ashley 'AJ' James, one of the more accomplished and promising basketball players from the Hampton Roads area and state of Virginia in recent memory.

Following a stellar career at Green Run High School in Virginia Beach, James decided to attend Hargrave Military Academy for a post-grad season to further boost his profile academically and athletically for the next level. The Tidewater native had committed to play his College Basketball at Missouri State.

But tragically, hours after his alma mater Green Run outlasted Norview in double-overtime to capture the school's first regional title in 36 years, James died in an accidental shooting (read more here) on Monday, March 2, 2020.

A two-time First Team All-State performer who was chosen Region 5A Player of the Year and Beach District Player of the Year as a senior with the Stallions, James finished with the second most points in Green Run history with 1298, surpassing Tyler Blount's mark of 1294 and only finishing behind B.J. Jenkins (1357), who went on to play College Basketball initially at Liberty before helping Murray State make the the NCAA Tournament.

The Stallions went 84-16 during the varsity career of James, which featured plenty of crowd-pleasing dunks, highlight-reel plays and memorable games. Speaking of those games, we give you our countdown of the Top Ten Ashley James games at Green Run in honor of the young man who wore No. 10...

AJ's Stat Line: 34 points, 12-26FG, 11-22 on 2's, 1-4 on 3's, 9-11FT, 12 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist.

This is the only loss on the Top Ten list for James, who again, came up on the winning side 84% of the time in his Stallions career. Just missing the cut were a couple of games against Phoebus and one at Norcom, where one of his jams had the fans buzzing. This was a very potent Landstown squad that would go on to capture the VHSL Class 6 State Championship just three months later.

James scored 34 points, which at the time would be a career-high that he'd break in 17 days during the holidays. He got off to a fast start, bunching 12 of those points in the opening period and had an acrobatic finish to help his team close the first half out on an 11-5 spurt.

On the other side, Michael Christmas - now of James Madison University - paced the Eagles with 33 points, 25 of those after half-time as his team rallied from a 38-30 deficit at the break. Landstown had failed to beat Green Run in recent years. In fact, this snapped a six-game losing streak in the head-to-head series and marked their first win over the Stallions since the 2012 Beach District Tournament.

But on this night, fans were treated to arguably the two best players in the '757' at the time filling it up at will.

AJ's Stat Line: 21 points, 8-15FG, 7-14 on 2's, 1-1 on 3's, 4-4FT, 7 rebounds, 4 assists and 3 steals.

There were more intense plays and drama in future meetings with Princess Anne, the school his sister Aziaha - who'll play her College Basketball at NC State - attends. However, on this night, James served notice to the Cavaliers that he would be a thorn in their side for years to come with an efficient 21 points while also leading his team in rebounds, assists and steals that night. Never mind the sophomore shared the starting lineup with four seniors that night.

An injury sustained three games later against then Atlantic Conference 9 rival Maury would end the sophomore campaign for James, and ultimately proved pivotal in his chase to catch B.J. Jenkins for the school's career scoring mark. Though the Stallions would defeat the Commodores for the Conference 9 Tournament crown, fans wonder what might've happened in the opening round of regionals against Bethel (led by Dajour Dickens, Cam Bacote and current Notre Dame football star Jeremiah Owusu) if they had a healthy James.

Bethel went on to fall to L.C. Bird in the Class 5 State Championship after escaping with a narrow win over the James-less Stallions in the 5A-South Region Tournament.

AJ's Stat Line: 31 points on 13-17FG, 12-15 2's, 1-2 3's, 4-6FT, 3 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 assist, 1 block.

After a finish to his junior season that was less than inspiring and summer of ups and downs, many didn't know what exactly to expect from James entering his senior sendoff in the Beach. The 6-foot-3 guard quickly erased any doubt with a 31-point outing against Tallwood - a team Green Run struggled to beat in double-overtime just one year before.

While James had 17 points on just 5-of-14 shooting in the previous encounter with the Lions, he missed only four of the 17 shots from the field he put up in this matchup. Maybe most impressive was the fact he turned the ball over only one time in simply dismantling the opposition.

As a team, Green Run came out hot by converting on their first five three-point shots.

In some ways, this performance set the tone for a stellar senior season for James and the quest of finally getting his school to a place they hadn't been in 35 years - the State Tournament.

AJ's Stat Line: 23 points, 9-25FG, 9-22 2's, 0-3 3's, 5-9FT, 6 rebounds, 6 steals, 1 assists, 1 block.

This game was more about what James on the defensive end of the court than offensively, where he had to shake off a rusty shooting night out of the gate to heat up and enable Green Run to gain some breathing room on a talented Cape Henry team.

The Dolphins featured D-1 talent on the other side, such as Dajour Rucker (Marshall), Danny Banister (Hampton), plus current players Christian Moore, Bryson Spell and Greg Melvin, who started his prep career at Green Run.

James not only was the game's leading scorer and had six of his team's 16 steals, he also shared the team lead in rebounds with George Wilson, then a sophomore and now a South Carolina football recruit. In the open court, the Stallions' playmaker had a few breathtaking finishes at the cup.

This was an otherwise ordinary James effort, but what lands it on the list is the significance of two things. One, they beat Cape Henry, the private school with more wins than any other in Hampton Roads over the past decade, in their building. Few public schools venture into their gymnasium and come away with a win. Additionally, James scored his 1000th career point when he converted a free-throw with 6:31 to go in the second quarter to give his team a 21-12 lead.

AJ's Stat Line: 25 points, 10-22FG, 9-18 2's, 1-4 3's, 4-6FT, 10 rebounds, 8 assists, 3 steals.

Jokingly, James and I blame Coach Kenneth Harris for not letting his star pull off the rare triple-double. At one point with 1:12 remaining in the third period, he was sitting on 21 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Of course, they'd empty the bench late in the fourth quarter on a night where 16 Stallions played and 12 reached the scoring column.

The way James got his 25 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists seemed effortless. He was one of six different Stallions to score in the opening period, tallying five points. Nonetheless, Kempsville only trailed 17-15. In the second quarter though, they hit them with a 22-4 surge to break the game open and never looked back.

It was on this evening that AJ took another step to solidifying himself as a D-1 prospect and a guy that can put the team on his back with some stiffer challenges that would remain ahead.

AJ's Stat Line: 25 points, 11-15FG, 11-13 on 2's, 3-4FT, 9 steals, 5 rebounds, 5 dunks, 3 assists.

If someone told you that Bayside went on a 15-0 run in a span of 4:10 in the fourth quarter against Green Run, one may think that the Marlins either pulled the upset or had a chance to in the closing moments. By then, it simply didn't matter. James made his first four shots inside the arc and was aggressive from the jump, recording four steals in the opening stanza.

AJ was a steal shy of the rare double-double with points and steals. An alley-oop finish on the feed from point guard Jacob Cooper - a tenth grader then before ascending to the VHSL Class 5 State Player of the Year this past winter - sent the crowd into a frenzy. It was one of five emphatic slams by James.

Bayside won back-to-back AAA State Championships from 1990-91 under Ron Jenkins. They've produced their fair share of talented athletes over the years. Yet, those that were there to witness James on that last night of November 2018 saw one of the finest players to take the basketball court on Haygood Road, no questions asked.

AJ's Stat Line: 26 points, 13-17FG, 11-15 2's, 2-2 3's, 2-2FT, 7 rebounds, 6 assists, 2 steals, 0 turnovers.

I'm not sure what the + / - ratio is exactly from this game, but it would certainly rank as the best or right there near the top of the list for James, ready to put on a show for the home crowd in the nightcap of the 11th Annual VirginiaPreps.com Basketball Classic. Ironically in this matchup, James went up against a Woodside team coached by former Arkansas guard Stefan Welsh, who he'd suit up for on the AAU circuit following his senior season with 'WAWG.'

AJ helped WAWG, along with former Phoebus star Khyree Temple, win the 2019 Hoop Group Southern Jam Fest at the Boo Williams Sportsplex. This particular game, James had the goods to battle Welsh in his heyday when he helped the Wolverines, alongside Calvin Baker, capture back-to-back state titles in 2004 and 2005.

Green Run led 43-15 at the break on a Wolverines team that was 8-5 overall. They got up as many as 38 points in the third quarter. It was an exquisite stat-line, and it showed the rest of the area and state this team can overwhelm if you aren't hitting shots from the outside (and Woodside was 2-of-25 from 3 that night).

Eight different individuals have won MVP honors multiple times in the 12-year history of the VaPreps Classic. Those names include Wakefield's Dominique Tham, Henrico's De'Monte Buckingham, Norfolk Collegiate's Adam Grant, Hampton's Jalen Ray, Oscar Smith's Karl Chavis, and John Marshall's Greg Jones and DeMarr McRae. But only James has won it on three occasions.

AJ's Stat Line: 27 points, 9-17FG, 7-14 2's, 2-3 3's, 7-13FT, 5 rebounds, 3 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks.

Early on, it appeared Green Run's five-game winning streak in their head-to-head series with Landstown would be coming to an end. The Stallions trailed by 14 points - 31-17 - in the second period as their go-to guy, Shawn Sanders (Virginia Union), didn't score a basket until the 4:15 mark of the third quarter. Sanders even fouled out with 5:23 to play in the contest.

James along with two unsung heroes - Aisaiah Phillips and Virginia Tech football player Lakeem Rudolph - came to the rescue. Rudolph scored the first three baskets of the third quarter for the Stallions. James and Phillips had nine points apiece in the fourth period when Green Run outscored Landstown 25-7 to seize control.

In the second half, as the game sped up, James showed what made him so fun and exciting for spectators to watch; thriving in transition with 16 of his game-best 27 points over the final two quarters of play.

AJ's Stat Line: 48 points, 21-34FG, 21-33 on 2's, 6-15FT, 20 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 block, 1 steal.

Okay, I get how silly and ridiculous it is that a young man can post 48 points, 20 rebounds, four assists and it NOT be the top game of his career. Just stay with me here for a moment... because just about any other situation it would be No. 1 with a bullet. I mean, he did miss nine free-throws and turn it over five times... so he could've gotten 60 points.

All kidding aside, it was a virtuoso performance that people in Northern Virginia are still talking about to this day by James as his career highs in points and rebounds were plenty to make him the MVP of the Glory Days Grill Tournament of Champions.

Going into the fourth quarter, the score was deadlocked 77-all with the Stallions and Bruins, who went on to reach the Class 6 State Championship just a few months later in March of 2019. James made six of his final eight shots from the field, scoring 15 points in the fourth quarter alone to lead Green Run past Lake Braddock in the much-anticipated Championship of this holiday tourney.

AJ's Stat Line: 30 points, 11-14FG, 9-11 on 2's, 2-3 on 3's, 6-8FT, 4 steals, 3 rebounds, 3 assists.

Every great drama has its subplots. With about two or three minutes left to go in the game, I lost count of them... because there were that many twists and turns. Matter of fact, the fourth quarter alone featured eight lead changes and six ties! That's about as good of a ballgame as you can have without going to extra fun, otherwise known as overtime.

The only reason the game against Lake Braddock wasn't tops on this list is because James is remembered best when it comes to his basketball exploits by one play. That is "the shot," he delivered from half-court that he banked in at the buzzer against Nansemond River, coached by a man in Ed Young who used to roam the sidelines at Green Run.

Green Run had failed time and time again in the round before qualifying for the State Playoffs, often victimized by Hampton and generally losing in a close game. They had been viewed as that contending program unable to get over the hump, and when sophomore super sub Elijah Kennedy suffered a gruesome injury - later diagnosed as a dislocated kneecap - that would require play being stopped and a stretcher to come onto the court, the energy in the building vanished.

That was until James breathed life back into his team, excitement into the game and set the stage for the ultimate climax. The score was tied at 11 when Kennedy went out and AJ would help the Stallions get up by as many as 11 points in the opening moments of the third quarter. Young's Warriors would not go away quietly though, thanks in large part to Justin Fatherly, who wanted to match James big shot for big shot.

A 17-7 run to end the third period brought Nansemond River within one, and soon Fatherly was right there with numbers almost on par with James - 26 points, including 8-for-8 at the charity stripe. The Warriors even nudged ahead, 53-50, for a brief moment with 4:53 to play. Another heart-break may be in the cards for Green Run, which had three starters including James with four fouls apiece as overtime looked inevitable.

Jamal Boone drained a pair of game-tying free-throws for the Warriors - a remarkable 16-of-16 from the foul line in the second half and 12-for-12 in the fourth quarter - with 3.7 seconds remaining. Green Run didn't help its cause to close the door, going just 10-of-18 from the free-throw mark following intermission. What they did have was a time-out and the most lethal player on the floor to try to draw something up for him.

The rest... as they say... was history.

Full Game Box Score

James pushed Green Run on to the State Playoffs for the first time since 1984, and while they would fall to Maury in the regional title game three nights later and get ousted by Varina in the State Playoffs, it was an iconic and defining moment.

Some might find it fitting that the final game James saw was at the Scope Arena, where after his sister led Princess Anne to its 16th region title, the Green Run boys captured hardware of their own by outlasting Norview to make more history. The Stallions won both of their State Tournament games, over Varina in the quarterfinals and Potomac Falls in the semis, at Norfolk State's Echols Hall before the coronavirus cancelled their scheduled Class 5 Final re-match with Norview. Both teams were named co-State Champs.

Sharing the title is not something any kid envisions. Then again, the way AJ played, he did plenty of sharing - the ball, spotlight and most of all, a smile. Those memories will carry on forever.

#LLAJ

Long Live Ashley James

Matthew Hatfield serves as Publisher for VirginiaPreps.com, part of the Rivals.com Network, and is a regular contributor to the ACC Sports Journal. Check out Hatfield’s Twitter page for more sports related updates, and you can also read his work in the Suffolk News Herald. To contact Matthew, please e-mail hatfieldsports2k4@yahoo.com, and don’t forget to listen to him weeknights from 6-7 PM on The 757 at 6 on ESPN Radio 94.1.