Concordia’s James Not Starting, but He’s Key to Eagles’ Success

Throughout his basketball career, Concordia’s Tarik James has never spent much time on the bench.

In high school he averaged 27 points and was an all-state selection at Phoenix Cortez High. In two seasons at Phoenix College, he averaged 15 points.

You could be sure James was in the starting lineup, and he expected more of the same when he transferred to Concordia last season.

But James didn’t start one game for the Eagles last season, and after starting the first four this season, he again begins the game on the bench.

Don’t think for a minute, however, that James is struggling. There’s no question he’s one of main reasons the Eagles are tied for first place in the Golden State Athletic Conference.

James, a 6-foot-2 guard, is second on the team in scoring at 14.4. He’s shooting 48.3% from the field, including 44.8% from beyond the three-point arc. He’s an active defender and in the last two conference games, he has made clutch three-pointers in the final minutes to help the Eagles win.

So why isn’t he starting?

Last season, James was narrowly beaten out for the off-guard spot by a senior, Sam Sabbara. This season, he won the starting job early, but when he struggled, he was moved to sixth man again.

In December, he hurt his back and missed three games, recovered for several games and then caught the flu and missed two more. “He was slowly working his way back into form,” said Coach Greg Marshall, “and all of a sudden he’s gotten hot.”

In five conference games, James has averaged 17 points, and Marshall said James could be starting, but because things are going well, he doesn’t want to tinker with the lineup.

“I think he’d like to start but he’s just a good kid. He hasn’t said anything to me like, ‘Coach, why aren’t I starting?’

“He’s out there at the end of the game. I think that’s the key.”

James agreed. “It used to bother me, but now I know that it’s for a reason,” he said. “I come off the bench and give us a little spark. As long as I’m helping the team, it doesn’t matter.”

James will get his next chance to help tonight, when the Eagles (15-5, 4-1 in the GSAC) play at Westmont (12-7, 4-1) for first place. Westmont lost its first conference game Tuesday, 88-70, to Azusa Pacific.

*

Still struggling: The Chapman men’s basketball team lost two games in Northern California last week, one of which was especially frustrating.

Last Friday, the Panthers lost to UC Santa Cruz, which was 2-11 coming into the game, 83-82, in overtime after leading by five with 40 seconds left in regulation.

Chapman turned over the ball and missed free throws down the stretch and Santa Cruz tied it. Chapman Coach Mike Bokosky said the loss reminded him of losses to Babson (Mass.) and Hartwick (N.Y.) in the Whittier tournament.

In each of the three games, Chapman lost a lead late in the game. “If we had taken control of our destiny, we’re 12-5 instead of 9-8,” Bokosky said. “[Failure to] handle the ball and make free throws, those things have taken us from being a good team to an average team this year.”

Chapman, which next plays Menlo tonight at the Hutton Center, is also a longshot to make the playoffs.

Notes

The Chapman football team has set up a tentative schedule for next season. The Panthers have two new opponents, Eastern Oregon State, an NAIA team playing its first NCAA Division III season, and St. Mary’s, a Division I-AA team. The schedule: Sept. 14: vs. Eastern Oregon State; Sept. 21: at Redlands; Oct. 5: vs. Chico State; Oct. 12: at Cal Lutheran; Oct. 19: vs. Sonoma State; Oct. 26: vs. La Verne; Nov. 2: at Occidental; Nov. 9: at St. Mary’s; Nov. 16: at Azusa Pacific. . . . The Concordia women’s basketball team moved into a third-place tie the Golden State Athletic Conference with a 76-62 victory over Point Loma Nazarene. The Eagles are 14-6, 3-2. Point Loma is 7-14, 3-2. Fresno Pacific (12-8, 3-1) and Azusa Pacific (13-4, 3-1) are tied for first.