[Rosiak's Blog] James will return

[ToddRosiakSays]

James will return

Written by: Todd Rosiak


In a move that most everybody expected, Dominic James has informed coach Buzz Williams he will return to MU for his senior season.

James had been flirting with the idea of bolting for the pros, but ultimately decided to stick around. Had he chosen to enter his name into the NBA draft pool, he wouldn't have been able to return since he already tested the waters last year.

There also remained the possibility James could have landed a lucrative gig playing overseas.

"Really excited," said Williams on Thursday. "For all our guys, regardless of their futures, we want to make sure that we put them in the best possible position that we can put them in as it relates to their time at Marquette, and I think that Dominic felt like this was the best decision for him.

"We're excited for him, but also excited for our players, and I'm excited to have an opportunity to coach him."

James said the decision was an easy one.

"First of all, I just had to pray about it. It's a major decision," he said. "I had to talk to my family about it. I'm confident in Buzz. When they made that decision, I was confident in the head coach we're going to have next year, regardless of if I was here or not. But I feel like my future's in the best hands back here at Marquette.

"I'm coming back for my senior year with a core group of guys that's ready to win. That's what I'm about, too." 

Last season, James relied heavily on feedback gathered by Tom Crean before making a decision. With Crean now at Indiana, he apparently went about things mostly on his own.

"I haven't talked to Coach Crean. He hasn't called me or tried to call me," James said. "Just like I told everybody else, my future's in somebody else's hands. I didn't even talk about the NBA to Coach Buzz. I went into his office and told him that I'm going to enjoy playing for him next year. There was no back-and-forth conversation.

"I just came in and said that I don't even want to talk about NBA no more. I'll be here next year." 

Williams will now be waiting on Jerel McNeal to announce his intentions. He has until April 27 to do so, and there remains a good chance he'll do what James did last year and declare without hiring an agent, thus preserving his right to return to MU if he so chooses.

"I've sat down with all of them every single day, and I have talked specifically with Jerel about it," Williams said. "How it all plays out, I think we've got to gather more information. I don't think he has a peace about it either way yet, and we're just trying to get as much info as we can.

"Same with Wes. They want to make sure that they're making the right decision at the right time, and any information that we can get is helpful in that regard."

James said he'd advise McNeal to at least try the process.

"I would encourage him, because this is our dream," he said. "For him to get his toes wet, if you want to say it like that, I feel like that's the best thing for him. He deserves it, he put the work in, and he showed that toward the latter half of the season.

"When you do that you always put yourself in a position to make your dream come true and I feel like it being this close, he can always come back for his senior season. I'd definitely encourage him to go, because he deserves it."



http://blogs.jsonline.com/muhoops/archive/2008/04/10/james-will-return.aspx