At 6-foot-8 and 210 pounds, Nicolet High’s James Graham Jr. has drawn comparisons to a former Georgia star.

Not only is Graham blessed with excellent length that allows the 2021 to recruit to excel as a defender, but his versatility on offense is what’s starting to catch the eye of college coaches like Georgia’s Tom Crean, who offered the Milwaukee native a scholarship Saturday night.

Not only does Graham have the ability to create plays in space; he boasts a strong perimeter game. Even with his height, he's a better ball handler than you might expect.

Sound familiar?

Crean certainly thought so. During their conversation Saturday night, he compared Graham to a former Bulldog with many of those same traits: Nicolas Claxton.

“Yeah, he compared me to Nick,” Graham said in a telephone interview with UGASports. “He said he likes 6-8 guys, although I think my ball handling is better. I dribble the ball a lot more than Claxton, but he’s a good guy, a good player.”

So is Graham, who teamed up with Duke commit Jalen Johnson to help lead Nicolet High School to a 22-3 record and the elite eight of the WIAA Division 2 state championships.

Although he’s currently unranked by Rivals, don’t let that fool you. Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, Graham saw his AAU season cancelled, which would have given him a chance to significantly boost his ranking.

But that hasn’t kept some big-time programs from knocking on his door. Recent offers have come from the likes of Virginia Tech, Wake Forest, Florida State, and Maryland, along with interest from Iowa and Michigan State.

The Bulldogs have also grabbed Graham’s attention. A virtual tour of the school is in the process of being planned.

“They’ve been talking to me for a couple of days, but they’ve been on the back of my coach, my AAU coach, getting tons of film and stuff,” said Graham, who was initially contacted by new Bulldog assistant Steve McClain. “So when they reached out to me, it was just to let me know they were offering. But they’ve been watching me for a long time.”

Turns out Graham has been watching the Bulldogs, too.

“The Georgia offer is big; it’s big,” Graham said. “You watch Anthony Edwards play last year. He’s one of my favorite players to watch; he’s probably going to be the top pick in the draft. (Crean) has also coached Dwyane Wade, he’s coached (Victor) Oladipo; he’s a great coach. He produces high-level pros, and I’d like to add my name to that list.”

Graham said the fact Crean has coached such stars as Wade and Oladipo is a big deal.

“That gives him more credibility. I would much rather listen to a coach that I know for a fact has produced some high-level players, than someone who’s maybe a little bit newer to the scene and hasn’t coached that many games,” Graham said. “With someone like Coach Crean, you know you can trust him and you know what he’s doing.”

The Crean-Wade connection really has Graham’s attention, especially considering both earned fame at Marquette, which just happens to be located in his Milwaukee hometown.

“It means a ton; D-Wade is big to my family,” Graham said. “Not only is he one of my favorite players, but he is my dad’s favorite player and my mom’s favorite player, so he’s a big part of my family.”

A self-described “isolation scorer,” Graham said he appreciates Crean’s up-tempo offensive style of play.

“I like it. They put you in place to score. I watched Anthony Edwards when he would bring up the ball sometimes; he could post sometimes. He was put in all types of situations to score,” Graham said. “I feel like I’m more of a three, so I feel l I would handle it a lot more. But if we were playing some slower threes, I could definitely take them off the dribble. And if I was going against some smaller threes, I believe Coach would do whatever to utilize my skills.”

A decision could be coming sooner than later.

“I want to decide before my senior year, and I think I still am,” said Graham, who added distance will not be a factor.