Christian James sets OU in top two

Rivals150 recruit Christian James left his official visit with Oklahoma last weekend believing the school was one of two places he could see himself playing college basketball next year.

"I would probably say OU and Oregon are my top two right now," the 6-foot-4 shooting guard told SoonerScoop.com Monday evening.

James trimmed his list of suitors to four last month, including OU, Oregon, Houston and LSU. He said he thought OU was a unique place to be a college athlete.

"It was great visit. I had a great experience down there," he said. "It was a great group of people. I'd probably say it's one of the greatest schools I've ever been to. Just visit-wise, people were so nice and genuine. Coach (Lon) Kruger, Coach (Lew) Hill, they're just wonderful people, Coach (Chris) Crutchfield. It was just a great experience all around."

His bond with OU is strongest through Hill. The two have built a relationship that has truth and understanding at its foundation.

"I'd probably say I'm closest to Coach Hill recruiting-wise," James said. "He's a great coach, always builds you up. I would say he's honest, very genuine. He always tells you the truth and not just what you want to hear. I think that's most important. That's what I want -- someone who's going to help me get better, not just tell me what I want to hear."

James spent a good amount of time with the team over the weekend and got to see how Kruger and his coaching staff interact with the team and its support staff.

"It's like a family down there," James said. "They don't put each other down in practice. They always build each other up and try to help each other on the court. So I think that's the most important part."

The university's bond with the city of Norman stuck out to James. He couldn't believe how humble and welcoming the people were.

"I would say the community -- I guess they're built around OU," James said. "The community up there, everybody is just so nice and genuine. It's kind of weird. I'm not used it. I'm not used to that, like people being genuine. People were just willing to help you anyway they can to be successful up there. I think that's what college players need."