Saturday, May 10th, 2008 by Adam Wagner
Duquesne’s James goes pro
When he was shot a couple of years ago, he was seen as one of the players who would become one of the new faces of the Duquesne Dukes’ basketball program under Ron Everhart, who he followed to Pittsburgh from Northeastern. On Friday, however, C Shawn James hired an agent, officially ending his college career in order to pursue an NBA career.
James is a potentially dominant player who is inconsistent. As Everhart put it, “I don’t think he really hit his stride. He showed in spurts what he’s capable of doing.” James is a phenomenal shot-blocker, he was fifth in the nation in blocked shots per game last season.
He will probably be a second round pick and will more than likely spend some time in the Developmental League, but the decision is a logical one for James as he is 25 years old and is getting married in the fall. In other words, it is not a decision made based purely on financial means made by a young kid, but instead a logical one made by a maturing young man.
Everhart has stated that he is proud of what James has accomplished at Duquesne and wishes him luck in the future. It is fair for Duquesne fans to wish him luck in the future as well, as James was a player for the program to be proud and could represent a stepping stone on the path to success even if he didn’t provide that success himself.
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