SAN ANTONIO — Duke basketball coach Jon Scheyer has often referred to Sion James as an “ultimate connector” for the Blue Devils.
Whether it’s scoring, rebounding, passing or defense, James has provided whatever Duke (35-3) has needed at any given moment in an underrated role throughout the season.
“I've asked him to do a lot of different things – guard every position, bring the ball up, screen, cut, shoot, pass, and there's no feelings with it. It's whatever you need,” Scheyer said during the first two rounds of the NCAA Tournament in Raleigh.
“In this day and age, to have a guy like that in his position has been an honor to coach that.”
Typically the last player to be announced in the starting lineup during Duke games this season, James doesn’t mind being whatever the Blue Devils need whenever they need it. According to EvanMiya’s metrics, James has the third-highest value on the team behind freshmen Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel.
“Really just being myself, doing the same thing everyone else is doing,” James said Thursday inside the Alamodome as Duke prepares for a Final Four matchup with Houston (34-4) on Saturday (8:49 p.m., CBS).
“That’s just something that comes more naturally to me, just like shooting comes naturally to others and touching the paint comes naturally to other guys. I’m just being myself.”
The 6-foot-6, 220-pound graduate transfer from Tulane has helped Duke win 30 of its 31 games since he joined the starting lineup in early December.
“When he walks in the room, it’s hard not to notice it. In the weight room, he’s insane,” Duke graduate transfer Neal Begovich said. “Most of our lifts that we do, everything’s on a leaderboard. So they’re tracking how fast we’re moving and he’s always the one that everyone’s chasing – him and Kon (Knueppel).”
James is averaging 8.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3 assists per game. His shooting splits are 52.4% overall, 41.7% from 3-point range and 81% from the free-throw line with an average of 25 minutes per game.
“He’s so professional in his approach every single day,” Begovich said.
“. … He’s set the standard for what it means to work like a professional, both in practice and outside of practice, too. He really has been at the forefront of our team’s culture this year.”
James has contributed to a improved culture of competitiveness and toughness in Scheyer’s third season, one that has the Blue Devils two wins away from a sixth national championship.
“It was almost our identity before we even knew it was, just because the level of guys we have on our team, the toughness we have on our team,” James said. “We got better at it as the season went on, for sure, just as you do with anything. But the character of our guys, we were kind of predisposed to being a tough team.”
With that in mind, James serves as the perfect tone-setter against the Cougars, with his two-way toughness as a defender and distributor.
“We really call it a get-the-ball game. That’s what it comes down to at the end of the game,” James said.
“They’re gonna crash the offensive and defensive glass, they’re gonna push you in the back. They’re gonna play in a way that it might be a foul, but maybe not. Either way, you gotta find a way to get the ball. As we’ve gotten further in the tournament, we’ve had a whole lot of get-the-ball games. This is the highest ...
