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Rojas Named First-Team All-American

James Rojas graduated from Jamestown High School in 2017 as one of the finest basketball players in school history.

Two years later, he’ll be leaving Hutchinson (Kansas) Community College with the same accolade.

The Blue Dragons sophomore added another postseason award on Monday, earning first-team NJCAA All-America honors.

Already named the 2019 Jayhawk West Player of the Year, the 6-foot-8 forward became the fourth straight Blue Dragon to earn first-team All-America honors. He is Hutchinson’s 12th first-team All-American and 33rd overall All-American in team history.

Rojas was Hutchinson’s leading scorer and the Jayhawk Conference’s third-leading scorer at 18.8 points per game. He also averaged 5.8 rebounds per game. Rojas shot 50.5 percent from the field and hit 33.3 percent on 31 3-pointers and was a 77.0 percent free-throw shooter.

Rojas missed five games in January, but returned and carried the Blue Dragons all the way to a sixth straight Region VI Tournament championship game. In the 14 games after returning from injury, Rojas averaged 21.4 points and 7.4 rebounds per game. During that span, he also shot 51.6 percent overall, including 48.6 percent from 3-point range, and 81.0 percent from the free throw line, and was second on the Blue Dragons with 39 assists and led the team with 22 steals.

Rojas scored a career-high 30 points in a Region VI Tournament victory over No. 3 Coffeyville on March 4. He had a 28-point game against NOC-Enid on Nov. 6. Rojas finished the season with 15 games of 20 points or more, and recorded two double-doubles.

Rojas concluded his career as Hutchinson’s 25th all-time leading scorer with 932 points. His 292 career free throws are eighth most and his 77.0 percent career mark from the free-throw line ties for the eighth best in program history.

As a senior at JHS, Rojas was named to the New York State Sportswriters Association Class AA fifth team, which came on the heels of his third-team all-state selection during the 2015-16 season.

A strong argument could be made, however, that he was even better as a senior.

The Erie County Interscholastic Conference Division 1 Player of the Year and a first-team All-ECIC choice – a selection that takes into account all players in the conference’s four divisions – Rojas was also The Post-Journal’s Player of the Year and a first-team All-Western New York choice.

The numbers he put up confirm why he was the recipient of such honors.

In leading Jamestown to a 14-7 record and a berth in the Section VI AA semifinals, Rojas averaged 27.1 points, 10.9 rebounds, 3.3 assists, 2.6 steals and 2.3 blocks per game while shooting 48 percent from the field and 78 percent from the foul line. He finished his career with 1,190 points, which is fourth on the Red Raiders’ all-time list.

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