Byline: RICH RADFORD
By Rich Radford
The Virginian-Pilot
NORFOLK
Darius James wears size-10 shoes and buys dress shirts with 16 -inch necks - and they're still loose on him.
If he walked through your office, you might figure he was the new intern looking for the copier.
A Division I basketball player? Please.
'I've ordered a couple pair of size 10s for our team managers before,' said Blaine Taylor, the Old Dominion men's basketball coach. 'But not for someone on our roster.'
James won't just be on ODU's roster today when the Monarchs play host to Virginia Commonwealth at the Constant Center. He'll be on the court, probably for much of the regionally televised game that begins shortly after 4 p.m.
When James played at Tallwood High in Virginia Beach, his nickname was 'Prince.' Now that the 6-foot, 165-pounder is playing for ODU, maybe his teammates should borrow from Leonard Wibberley's 1950s novel and call him 'The Mouse that Roared.'
In the past month, James has shown anyone who was watching that little guys can play, too. During an eight-game span, the lefthanded freshman point guard has averaged 12.1 points and 2.9 assists.
If that doesn't catch your attention, how about his 3.9 rebounds per game during that stretch? He grabbed six against James Madison on Wednesday night - and that's not his best. He had seven a month ago at Winthrop.
'It's not like I just got small,' James said. 'I've been small all my life. I've had to learn to work with what I have.'
His teammates stopped measuring him with a yardstick and a scale long ago.
'In my opinion, he's the top freshman guard in the conference,' ODU junior forward Jonathan Adams said.
Hofstra coach Tom Pecora remembers having a player similar to James.
'I was so dumb (that) I didn't start Loren Stokes until the middle of December of his freshman year,' Pecora said. 'He was reed thin. I was worried whether he'd be able to hold his own.'
Stokes twice was the runner-up for Player of the Year in the Colonial Athletic Association and finally earned the honor last season.
Oddly, James still practices with his reversible jersey showing light blue, the second-team's color.
'That's what I came out wearing at the first practice this season,' he said. 'And I'm not going dark blue until coach tells me to.'
James might have been a first-team All-Tidewater selection last season, but recruiters weren't knocking down his door. Other than ODU, he had a late scholarship offer from Appalachian State.
That was it.
'Me and Denzel Bowles are good friends and, when we were juniors, he was getting recruited by Wichita State and Texas A&M,' James said. 'I was getting Virginia Wesleyan and Mount Olive. He's 6-9. I'm 6-foot. Pretty easy to figure why the big schools were recruiting him and not me.'
Bowles, who played at Kempsville High, ended up at Texas A&M after being named second-team All-Tidewater. The Monarchs waited until late May to tell James they had a scholarship for him.
'Darius grew on us,' Taylor said. 'He had a real clear look in his eye and a belief in his ability. He just wanted to have a chance. I sensed that, if we took him, we'd have a loyal competitor.'
Taylor would have played James more in November but says he 'needed to let the smoke clear.'
'The questions about what type of competitor he'd be couldn't be answered in a game or two,' Taylor said. 'It's a lot easier to find players than it is to find competitors. The little guys in this game have a tendency to develop a chip on their shoulder, an 'I'll-show-you' mentality.'
James has that. He remembers not too long ago being passed over during pick-up games at Kempsville Recreation Center in Virginia Beach.
'They'd think I was too small,' he said. 'I'd be over on the sidelines waiting my turn thinking, 'I'm not just going to school you when I get out there; I'm going throw a pass between your legs and embarrass you.''
Taylor has stopped thinking about James in terms of size and has started thinking about him in terms of results.
'There are kids who keep count in everything they do - and those are the ones you want,' Taylor said. 'It's a real advantage to have that type kid at the point guard position. It permeates through the rest of the team.
'Darius wants to win so bad that, if we have a free throw shooting competition and he finishes second, we have to take his shoe laces away from him to keep him from hanging himself. He couldn't care less that he beat the other 11 guys.'
Rich Radford, (757) 446-2463, rich.radford@pilotonline.com VCU at odu men
When 4 p.m.
Where Constant Center, Norfolk
Records VCU 12-4, 5-1 CAA; ODU 9-9, 4-2
TV CSN
Radio 94.1 FM
About the Rams VCU has lost its past three trips to the Constant Center, including a 79-63 outcome last season. VCU is paced by the dynamic Eric Maynor (17.8 ppg, 5.1 apg), who last season earned a reputation as a clutch player when he hit winning shots against George Mason in the CAA championship game, then did it again against Duke in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Jamal Shuler is averaging 14.9 ppg. Michael Anderson from Landstown High is averaging 7.2 ppg and 5.2 rpg. The Rams have played only four true road games this season, going 2-2. VCU is tied with Delaware atop the league standings.
About the Monarchs ODU is tied for third in the CAA standings and can move into a tie for second - or better - with a win. The Monarchs are led by 6-10 sophomore Gerald Lee (13.2 ppg, 6.3 rpg). Senior guards Brandon Johnson and Brian Henderson each average 9 ppg. ODU is coming off a 79-52 home victory against James Madison; it was the Monarchs' second-highest point output of the season.
CAPTION(S):
L. Todd Spencer [bar] The Virginian-Pilot
ODU's Darius James reacts after passing over JMU's Heiden Ratner on Wednesday. James is averaging 12.1 points over his last eight games. Bill Tiernan [bar] The Virginian-Pilot file photo
Darius James, a Tallwood High grad, has started just three games but is averaging 7.3 points and 2.1 assists in 19.5 minutes for ODU.
