By Amy Samin
American center Shawn James (27, 2.08 meters) has signed with Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv. The native New Yorker started his career with Northeastern University and was considered to be one of the best shot blockers in the NCAA: his five career triple-doubles earned him a tie for third place ranking in NCAA history. He set a new record in 2006 with an average of 6.53 blocks per game in the collegiate league.
For the last three seasons, James has played for Bnei Hasharon. In each of those seasons he finished as the leader in blocks in the Israeli Lotto League; in the last season he also earned the title King of the Rebounds and as the player with the highest index ranking in the league. Last season he posted excellent averages: 26 index points, 13.5 points; 11.1 rebounds, and 3.2 blocks per game. In the 26-game regular season, James ended up with thirteen double-doubles!
Maccabi head coach David Blatt said today, “I’m very happy about Shawn’s joining us. He fits in well with our path and our vision at Maccabi Electra Tel Aviv. As a person, he has an exceptional personality and as a player he has extremely impressive qualities. He is specifically suited to us in that he will help strengthen us in areas where we were lacking this season – rebounding and blocking – two elements that can and should be strengthened in a team; you can never have too much of either. Shawn has a lot of experience in the Israeli league, he is without a doubt one of the outstanding players of this past season, and he will also help us a lot in Europe. Our front line was strong before, and now it will be even stronger.”