James McNeil emerged as one of the top guards in high school. He led his team to multiple tournament championships and playoff runs. In college, James scored 1,501 points in three years, which broke the all-time scoring record. He had a career scoring average of 19.8 points per game. The most points James scored in a game was 48 points against Frostburg State University in 2006.

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In 2008, James was invited to workout with the Idaho Stampede, a NBA D-League team affiliated with the Toronto Raptors and Portland Trailblazers. After working out with the team, James decided to retire. He went back to school and earned a master's degree and Ph.D. 

 

In 2021, James inducted into the Medaille University Athletic Hall of Fame. During the same year, James decided to teach his kids the game of basketball. Realizing the impact he was making, James decided to open up a place where he could teach other kids about basketball.