BY KYLE LOVERN
FOR THE MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
Martin County basketball standout Trey James has decided he will transfer to Robert Morris University (RMU) located in a suburb of Pittsburgh.
James, who played for Rick Pitino at Iona College the last couple of seasons, recently entered the transfer portal. The transfer portal is the system that allows college athletes to change schools. It is a database that lists all players who intend to transfer.
The Robert Morris Colonials compete in Division I in the Horizon League. The school colors are blue, white and red. The head coach is Andrew Toole.
“I’m looking forward to playing for Coach Toole and being a part of the RMU basketball program,” James said in an exclusive interview for the Mountain Citizen. “Coach Toole has been very successful in his tenure at RMU. I feel confident that he will lead the program to the top of the Horizon conference standings.
“I hope to add an inside presence to a team that already has great pieces in place.” James added. “RMU wanted to add a traditional big for the upcoming season and they felt like they were lacking size, toughness, rebounding and rim protection. I feel like I can bring that to the program and have the opportunity to play.”
The 6-foot-10 post player holds the Kentucky high school state record for blocked shots in a career, season and game.
James should fit in well for the Colonials and see plenty of playing time right away. The Martin County High School graduate visited several other schools before transferring to RMU. James will have three years of eligibility remaining for his college career.
The Horizon League has 12 members, including Cleveland State University (Cleveland, Ohio), the University of Detroit Mercy (Detroit, Mich.), the University of Illinois at Chicago (Chicago, Ill.), Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (Indianapolis, Ind.), Northern Kentucky University (Highland Heights, Ky.), Oakland University (Rochester, Mich.), Purdue University Fort Wayne (Fort Wayne, Ind.), Robert Morris, University of Wisconsin-Green Bay (Green Bay, Wisc.), University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (Milwaukee, Wisc.), Wright State University (Dayton, Ohio) and Youngstown State University (Youngstown, Ohio).
“RMU was atop the NEC conference for many years until moving to the Horizon three years ago. They have a great coaching staff, they are young and eager to reach the top of the Horizon Conference standings. RMU is located in the suburbs of Pittsburgh. They have a nice campus, new arena and facilities,” James said of Robert Morris.
“I took visits to Holy Cross, Southern Indiana and Robert Morris. I had other visits planned but decided to cancel after meeting with the coaches at RMU. Everything they said was what I was looking for so – I didn’t think I needed to look any further,” James concluded.
James left Martin County High School midway through his senior season and joined the Iona squad to get a jump on his college career and studies. That year was during the COVID pandemic. He helped lead his high school squad to a regional tournament win during his junior season and they would have advanced to the Sweet Sixteen, however because of the coronavirus, the tourney was canceled.
James was recruited by several Division One colleges while in high school. He originally verbally committed to Wake Forest in the ACC, but after coach Danny Manning was fired, he changed his mind. He landed in New York playing for Pitino.