InsideHoops.com broke the story
James has said that he will test the NBA waters and see how much interest pro scouts have in drafting him before he hires an agent. James can still come back to Duquesne if he does not hire an agent. This shouldn't be much of a shock to Duquesne fans, James is 24 years old, and if pro scouts tell him he has a good shot at being a 1st round draft pick there is no reason for him to come back to Duquesne. 1st round NBA draft picks receive 3 year guaranteed contracts, so being slotted as a 1st round pick would be huge for James. If James isn't being considered as a 1st round pick he should come back to Duquesne to improve his draft stock. James battled shoulder and back injuries most of the 07-08 season and a healthy 08-09 season could help improve his NBA draft stock for the following year's NBA Draft.
What does this mean for Duquesne?
If James leaves the program Duquesne will have no legit post players on their team. Other than James the only other players on Duquesne's roster over 6'7 are little used sophomore David Theis, and walk-on redshirt freshman Brandon Harris. Theis is more of a jump shooter than a post player, and Harris hasn't shown he is a Division I caliber basketball player. Duquesne has not added a player over 6'5 to their roster so far in their 2008 recruiting class, but they still have scholarships to give and are actively looking at some big guys. Check OnTheBluff.com for all Duquesne recruiting news and info.
7 comments:
Maybe he will go, but face it he couldn't dominate in the A-10. The power forwards and centers were not stopped by him and he was not a controlling factor as he was in non conference games.
I wish him well but he was not a dominator like Derrick Alston. Alston is still playing in Europe after a year or three in NBA.
James is too soft to compete in the NBA.
Could you see him attempting to cover Tim Duncan? Amare Stoudemire? Kevin Garnett?
Neither could I. Good luck in Europe Shawn.
I don't think he's too soft to play in the NBA. He's a great weak side help defender, in which he could play against non-scoring big men and rotate to block shots from the blind side from scoring big men. He is an elite shot blocker who doesn't get into foul trouble, it's just that Duquesne should run their offense through him. Just ask Vouyoukas and Robert Swift if bulking up to 270 or 280 helped. Last time I checked, Swift looked too slow and too out of shape to be a regular on the hapless Sonics this year.
On offense, Duquesne should've run pick-and-pop plays, and a varierty pick-and-roll plays, he can even handle the ball and take it to the rim. James is a good shooter and can score, and a variety of pick-and-roll plays can be run, like for example the pick-and-roll and the screener slips out of it and the little guard sends him the ball, and also work in high post plays so he can take big men off the dribble so he can use his speed.
Duquesne would['ve benefited more if they ran their offense through him and played him 35 minutes a game instead of rotating him with other incompetent players on their team; for the only way to get noticed at a non-power conference team is to do one thing really well, and/or to score.
Several suggestions for Duquesne:
Instead of building the offesne around an inconsistent 3-point shooting attack, it should be frontcourt and take it to the basket centric. Also, Duquesne should stop full-court pressing and get back on defense, for full-court pressing allows opponents to leak out for fastbreak baskets. They also need taller guards who can challenge shots better and rebound the ball so they don't keep losing extra opportunities to get into their offesne.
Also, in 2006, this is what they said about Joakim Noah. He has a near 15 PER in the NBA, and is doing quite well as a role player off the bench.
I would have liked to have seen more of the offense go through Shawn James as well, and I have written about that on this blog on many occasions. James and Achara would fight for good position on the block and their teammates would fail to make a solid entry pass into them.
No one wants James to get huge and go up to 270, but adding 10-20 pounds on his slim frame is neccessity for the NBA.
The Dukes season was derailed by failures in the clutch, (they lost every single digit game they were in except one) not because of their press.
Don't look for the Dukes to add taller guards either, their most talented recruit is 5'11 point guard Eric Evans. Expect to see Evans pick up significant minutes next season.
Noah and James are not comparable players. Noah was an important cog on a 2 time National Championship team, James played hurt all year for a medicore team in a medicore conference.
Noah and James are not comparable players, but both have been criticized as soft by doubters and critics alike. Pedigree aside, James could be a Theo Ratliff-Justin Williams type, and will all in likely have to make the NBA as an undrafted shot blocking specialist.
He is a good shot blocker, and the NBA is always going to give a look at big guys. Curtis Borchardt went first round, Earl Barron is in the league despite shooting below 40% at Memphis, but that's aside from the point.
James has a specialty that most shot blockers don't have, and that is the ability to step out and hit threes. He could stretch defenses on up tempo teams. However, I think he needs to be in a position where they can use that ability more so he can showcase that skill. Also, he could be a good high post player, he has some ability to handle the ball and drive to the basket, but most focus on limiting turnovers and protecting the ball.
I think teams should seriously give him a look in the second round, but going back to school won't hurt either. If anything, if he puts up scoring numbers and if Duquesne goes on to postseason, he should have a better chance to make the leap. A player is never too old to make the NBA, Horace Jenkins made the Pistons when he was 30, and Ervin Johnson was about 26 years old as a rookie, but made an impact. If he shows he can play well against elite level competition, he can make the league. Yes, he played with Jose Juan Barea, and led the league in blocks twice, but if the NBA wants to see more, he should provide them with it.
I think what James should do, is to workout out for NBA teams to get his name out, but come back for another year to prove to teams that he has what it takes to make the league.
Whether he stays or goes, James should gain 10-15 pounds, but it must be all muscle. Eat healthy, train properly, and make sure to be able to run fast, be agile, and still be athletic. I guess he could go in like Camby, but he should be on an NBA-like workout regimen, and work on bsketball skills to hone his game. I think which ever venue, he'll do fine. Hey, if Mario West can make the NBA and be a role player from Georgia Tech, if Ben Wallace can make the league out of Virginia Union, and if guys like Montross and Toby Bailey somehow don't even last 10 years, then I guess anything can happen in the NBA. Whichever, I hope James is ready to compete and do whatever he's asked. It wouldn't hurt to stay for another year, but if he leaves for the draft, he should be ready to scrap in the summer leagues, D-League, and maybe the Euroleagues. It'll be an uphill battle, but guys like Jamario Moon give guys like James hope, that maybe he can make the league, if not right away.
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