In building last season’s roster, Duke coach Jon Scheyer had the nation’s top freshman class coming in. He had returning veteran guards Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster. And he had two veteran role players coming in as transfers in Mason Gillis—who helped lead Purdue to last year’s Final Four—and Maliq Brown—one of the top defenders in the ACC.
He had one spot left to fill.
“Really, we were patient with the last spot,” Scheyer said. “We knew we needed one more guard. We looked at some other guys, all good players. Then Sion came up late. It took me about two seconds to say, All right, this guy, he’s perfect for what we need. That was really the last piece to going full out for this big, versatile, unselfish team.”
Sion James transferred from Tulane, and, on a team full of glue players, he’s been the stickiest.
“It’s hard to imagine our team without Sion,” Scheyer said. “That last get of him going in was huge for us—the numbers behind it, but also just the vision that I had and our staff for surrounding our young guys with strength, with security, then having great shooting on the floor, which has led to some great kill shots, all right? We’ve had some great kill shots because of that.”
Whatever the team has needed—ball handling, defense, a clutch shot or to get out of the way and let the stars be stars—James has provided.
“Everything I did over those four years (at Tulane), whether I knew it or not, was preparing me for moments like this,” James said. “Throughout the whole time, I was dreaming of being able to compete in the tournament and play in a Sweet 16, the Elite 8, Final Four.”
Much like his year at Duke, James didn’t do the flashy things that show up in a box score at Tulane. He did what was needed, and Scheyer noticed.
“Sion James, we played against him two years at Tulane,” said Houston coach Kelvin Sampson. “He was probably the fourth best player on his team at Tulane. That’s true. That speaks to Jon Scheyer’s ability to put his team together. He chose Sion James. His intelligence, his basketball IQ, his toughness, he’s a winner. He doesn’t require shots. He can make ’em, but doesn’t have to have ’em, which is important on that team.”
