Some of Ashlinn James’ (10, HSU) earliest memories involve being the shortest player on the basketball court. At just 5’7”, a point/shooting guard, she is used to her peers towering over her and has learned to thrive this way.
James has never let her height stop her. In her 8th grade year at Ramsey Middle School, she played on the girls varsity basketball team at Jeffersontown (J-Town) High School. “When I was younger, I just always played with boys, so it wasn’t really that new,” James said about the experience of playing with people bigger, stronger and taller than her.
During that 8th grade year, she juggled playing for Ramsey, J-Town and her Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) team. “It was like come to this practice, go to that practice, go to that practice. It was a lot,” James said.
Even so, she feels that this time in her life was important to help her not only develop her game but to work through the challenge of simultaneously juggling basketball and other things in life.
James has been around different forms of basketball for her whole life. “I started playing basketball because I enjoyed watching it,” James said.
From James’ uncle to her older sister, basketball runs in the family. Her uncle played college basketball and her sister, Londyn James (12, HSU), shares the court with her at Manual.
“It can be hard sometimes, but sometimes it’s really funny. When we’re scrimmaging and she (Manual Head Coach) splits up the teams, me and her cannot be on the same team,” said James about playing alongside her sister.
James’ father has also played basketball and that has been a pivotal part of her journey. He currently coaches her AAU team, Dana Evans Elite. He has seen her grow and develop her game through the years, and having him as a coach has been integral to James’ success. She describes him as “the coach to lead me to where I am right now.”
Another person who has been integral to James’ basketball career is her Manual Coach, Coach Ashley Franklin, also known as “Coach AB.” While James was originally planning on attending Mercy Academy, she changed her mind after just one conversation with Coach AB.
“She was very energetic and positive. I’ve learned a lot from her,” James said.
Of the past seasons, James described one of her most memorable moments as a weekend trip to Coach AB’s house with the team. She recalled being woken up at four in the morning by her coach to do push-ups, planks and other workouts.
“It was funny…we were just giggling and giggling. She had this steep hill next to her house… we had to run up and down it 35 times. We were out there for like two hours. We were supposed to do another workout at eight or nine, but she said she felt bad…so the next day we went to First Watch and the EKU game. It was really fun,” said James.
When she was a little girl, James lived in Atlanta, Georgia. Ever since moving to Kentucky at age five, James has taken a lot of her inspiration and motivation from the University of Louisville Women’s Basketball team. The well-decorated program has boasted six straight Elite Eight appearances and James has watched and admired the star power in the program over the past years.
“Louisville has really been my dream team. If Louisville gave me an offer, I would definitely go there,” said James.
She recalled going to games when she was younger and admiring former Cards, such as AD Durr and Dana Evans. James specifically remembered going to her first Louisville game, seeing Durr play and immediately admiring them. James was shocked by how dynamic of a player Durr was, and they have been James’ favorite Louisville alum ever since.
Since the summer season has come to an end, James has had her eyes set on her sophomore year and the rest of high school.
Throughout the 2022-23 AAU season, James’ attention from colleges skyrocketed. Over the summer, she received offers from Western Kentucky University, North Carolina A&T, Murray State and Bellarmine.
“I was expecting it because my dad was telling me, sophomore year is the year they’re going to start coming in because it’s not my first year of high school anymore, I’m starting to get a little bit older. So I was excited, and I was like, this is going to be a good year,” James said.
James said her goal for this season is “to get my thousandth ball,” and goal for her high school career is, “to go to state.”
