Marquette University Athletics
Right On Point
1/9/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 9, 2009
By Michael Wittliff
In preparation for Marquette's first year in the BIG EAST Conference, the program brought in a heralded recruiting class to ease the transition to the powerful 16-team league. Included in that group was point guard Dominic James who is in the midst of his fourth and final year at Marquette.
"It's been unbelievable," James said of his time thus far at MU. "I think I am most proud of the relationships that I have built off the court and understanding how important things off the court are, as far as our friendships and the brotherhood that we have built. On the court it has been an unbelievable experience, I feel like we have made each other better.".
James, as a member of MU's trailblazing class in the BIG EAST, has logged an impressive league record of 33-19 in just over three seasons. James thinks that when his career is finished he will be able to look back with pride at what he and his classmates have accomplished in Blue and Gold.
"It's going to feel great," James said. "Just because when we first got here there were a lot of doubters, I feel like most people expected failure. Just for us to start that off, especially in the BIG EAST, with all the doubts and all the obstacles in front of us, we will be able to look back and be proud of what we accomplished here. That is going to be the best part about it all. We have set a new path for new guys to come in and do the same things."
Following a group of players who had reached the NCAA Final Four and enjoyed a tremendous amount of success in Conference-USA, MU's venture into the BIG EAST Conference seemed logical but daunting.
"A lot of people saw it as pressure but we saw it as an opportunity," James recalled.
After declaring for the 2007 NBA Draft following his sophomore season, James pulled his name out of the draft pool upon completion of the NBA Pre-Draft camp that spring. His experience there has helped him get a better understanding of what he needed to do as a point guard and gave him a grasp of where he stood in scouts' minds.
"It humbled me," James revealed. "More than anything It was a point where I had to be extremely honest with myself and tell myself that I wasn't ready to go to the next level. So that's why I didn't try to enter again last year and leave. I just wanted to come back and enjoy my senior year with my teammates and live for the moment. I have been enjoying my time here at Marquette as a senior student and athlete."
Numerous experts have commented on how James has evolved into a true point guard after being the top scoring option in his previous three seasons.
"The people that know basketball know the transition that I have made," James explained. "I have been a scorer my entire career here and I have embraced a different role this year and that is being a true point guard and getting other guys involved."
That transition has been aided greatly by the veteran play of fellow seniors Wesley Matthews (MU's leading scorer) and Jerel McNeal (BIG EAST's reigning Player of the Week and Rivals.com's No.1 ranked shooting guard), along with junior forward Lazar Hayward (MU's leading rebounder).
"We've got three other guys that are averaging 15-plus points, so that means as a point guard, I don't have to score a lot. That makes my job a lot easier in that I can get them the ball in situations where they can score. As a point guard you have to do that and play great defense to take the other team out of the way that they want to run (their offense). That's what I have wanted to do this year."
Although he has been deferring much of the scoring to his teammates this season, James still wants to have the ball in crunch time.
"I feel like as a point guard you want to get the best available shot and obviously I want the ball to be in my hands in pressure situations. I want the ball in my hands but I want to get the ball to a guy I trust and coach trusts. I want that type of pressure on me, whether it is to take the shot or make a pass."
Over the course of his career, James has taken big shot after big shot, hitting last second shots against Louisville at Freedom Hall his freshman year to send the game into overtime, as well as game winning shots at Valparaiso his sophomore year and at N.C. State this year.
"It is yet to come," James said of his signature moment in a a Marquette uniform. "I think I have had some great moments but I feel like my defining moment as a Marquette player is yet to come, I am still looking forward to that."
Though James keeps working on his game, fatherhood has kept him focused on what is truly important in life.
"I realize that there are a lot more important things than basketball," said James, who has a soon-to-be two year old daughter Nora. "I want to perfect my craft and I know that I have to work hard every day if I want to provide for my daughter and the rest of my family. I want to play basketball to make a living and it has become a lot more of a serious situation."
This past semester James interned with 540 ESPN Radio in Milwaukee to complete an academic requirement for his major.
"It was a great experience," James said. "Going in I didn't know what to expect because I had never had a job before, it was kind of new for me. But more than anything I wanted to network and get a feel for my major and what I can do after the ball stops bouncing. "
On track to graduate this spring with a bachelor's degree in public relations, James realizes the opportunities that a degree from Marquette will provide him in the future.
"I understand it now and in the future I know that its going to pay unbelievable dividends," James said. "Just the prestige that is associated with Marquette, my degree is going to be unbelievable. I feel that I am an example to not only kids here but for kids back home. Just to let them know that it is important to get their degree. That's what I want to be remembered as."
Back in James' hometown of Richmond, Ind., people are able to follow his progress through the Richmond Palladium-Item as sports editor Mike Bennett, who spends a great amount of time following the Golden Eagles on the road and in Milwaukee.
"Coaches, fans and teammates have told me time after time that Dominic is a better person than a basketball player," Bennett wrote in an email. "I have found that high praise to be entirely true. Dominic cares about and connects with people in the most unique ways I've seen in three decades of writing about athletes.
"He's the kind of guy who would stick around to visit with adoring children or senior citizens after a game rather than race out to be with friends.
"It's been truly a blessing to have that type of support from my hometown," said James. "It's rare (to have a hometown sports editor travel to games). They embrace me, so at the same time I embrace them. I love to give back to my community and things like that. Anything that I can do for my hometown, I am willing to do it."
Bennett sees the appreciation and respect between James and those in Richmond.
"He is true to his schools, his family, his hometown and himself. People here know that and return the love. They rejoice when he and the Golden Eagles succeed and cringe when they don't."
In James' three and a half years in Milwaukee he has racked up 1,614 points, putting him ninth on the all-time list, to go along with 569 career assists and almost 400 rebounds. The 569 assists put him third among active NCAA Division I players as well as third all time in MU annals.
James arrived on campus in 2005 as the heir apparent to out-going point guard Travis Diener, the school's most recent All-America at the time. Now it is James, an All-America in 2007, who is preparing for his curtain call with the other members of the 2009 senior class. His list of accomplishments have been long and awards numerous but James is focused on finishing off his career the way that he knows he is capable of doing.
