There are plenty of great scorers in college basketball, and plenty of great shooters, and plenty of great stealers…but only a select few who can do it all. James Florence was 1 of those players for Mercer, as he graduated in 2010 with the most PTS (2287)/3PM (242)/STL (168) in school history. Hw was named all-conference for 4 straight seasons and was the 1st player in Atlantic Sun history to score 500+ PTS in 4 seasons. HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to chat with James about being a great scorer and being a great defender. Today marks the 13th anniversary of James having a 40-PT game on November 27, 2009, so we take this time to reflect on his amazing accomplishment.
In high school you were ranked as the 2nd-best PG in the state of Georgia (behind Javaris Crittenton): did you feel like you could compete with anyone? I always thought that I was good enough to play on the next level. In high school I was always surrounded by such great talent that I never showed all that I could do. I looked at it as an honor to be ranked the 2nd best PG in Georgia because there is a lot of talent coming out of our state each and every year.
Why did you choose to go to Mercer? Mercer was a school that came in at the start of my senior year after many of the bigger schools that had offered me scholarships later withdrew them. Coach Mark Slonaker said he was surprised that I was under-recruited and asked if I would be interested in Mercer. I listened to him and it sounded like a great situation for me. By then I was tired of the recruiting process, disappointed at all of the offers that had been withdrawn, and was just happy that someone wanted me/thought highly of me. They made it an easy decision for me even after some more schools came after me late.
In 2007 you were 1 of 3 freshmen to lead their respective conferences in scoring (along with future lottery picks Kevin Durant/Stephen Curry): did you think that you would follow in their superstar footsteps? I do not know about filling those exact shoes: those guys are established/great talents. I thought that I could definitely play on that level 1 day and contribute to a team. I just have to take it one step at a time.
On November 27, 2009, you scored a career-high 40 PTS/14-20 FG in a loss to Georgia Tech: was it just 1 of those scenarios where every shot you put up seemed to go in because you were “in the zone”? A lot of those Power 5 schools do not want to draw up anything special for smaller schools like Mercer so I think they just left their guys on an island. When you play man-to-man defense and your opponent hits a few shots there is not much that you can do but hope that he cools down. I just got going early and felt like I was alone in the gym: just me and the ball and the rim.
You were named All-Atlantic Sun during each of your 4 years: how were you able to dominate throughout your college career? Trust: the trust that my coaches/teammates put in me and the time that they took to teach me the ins and outs of the game and show me how I could be the most effective. Both Coach Slonaker and Coach Bob Hoffman did a great job of that.
You finished your career as the all-time leading scorer in school history: did you realize at the time how prolific a player you were? I always thought that I was pretty good…but I did not walk into Mercer and check the record books and pick out which records I would break! About halfway through my career I saw that it was in reach but I never thought about it much.
You also had the most steals in school history: how were you able to balance your offense with your defense? I roamed a lot and just picked my spots to gamble. I was fortunate to play with Calvin Henry, who led our league in BLK for a couple of years. He would clean up a lot of my mistakes so I had enough freedom to gamble and I came up lucky a few times.
You played in the Portsmouth Invitational on a roster that included Wayne Chism/Raymar Morgan/Jerome Randle: how did you like the experience, and which of your teammates did you think would become the best pro? It was a great experience. I did not perform the way that I wanted to but it was a learning experience if anything. I thought that Kevin Palmer had the best chance to succeed in the NBA because of his length and his ability to do so many things besides score, but I knew that Jerome Randle was going to have a great career whether he stayed overseas or got to the League.
You were waived by the 76ers after missing most of training camp with a hamstring injury: how close did you come to making the team? It was a tough spot to get hurt on the 3rd day of training camp but I learned as much as I could from those guys. I do not know how the rest of the camp would have gone if I would have been healthy but I had a chance, which is all that I could ask for. Everyone on the team/staff was great…although hopefully that will not be the last time I am on the court with those guys! My agent Danny Servick and I looked into some opportunities in Europe and the NBDL (note: James is still playing pro basketball more than a decade after graduating). We just took our time and tried to find the best situation for me.
When people look back on your career, how do you want to be remembered the most? I want to be remembered as a guy who gave it everything he had every night and did everything possible to win: simple as that. Hopefully I will not become a distant memory anytime soon!