Cooper Flagg and the other outstanding freshman on Duke’s men’s basketball team have gotten much the attention this season, and for good reason. They did not get the Blue Devils to the NCAA Tournament’s Final Four on their own, though.
Duke’s starting lineup also features a pair of guards, Sion James and Tyrese Proctor, with eight combined seasons of college basketball experience. Proctor has been around since 2022, when the Coach Jon Scheyer era began. James, who played four seasons at Tulane, transferred in for his fifth and final year.
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James is tied for fourth on the team in scoring (8.7 points per game) and is second to Flagg in assists (3.0). On the defensive side of the floor, James helped hold All-American Mark Sears to six points on 2-of-12 shooting, while scoring nine points and pulling down seven rebounds in Duke’s 85-65 win over Alabama in the Elite Eight on Saturday. The victory sent the Blue Devils to the Final Four for the 18th time in program history and the first time under Scheyer’s leadership.
team photo –> EAST REGIONAL CHAMPS pic.twitter.com/iBmrmq1vOF
— Duke Men’s Basketball (@DukeMBB) March 30, 2025
“Just because we go to Duke and play for Duke doesn’t mean that we’re going to be in the Final Four every year,” James said after the game. “It’s a grind. We had to work from the minute we got here to get to this position, but it’s really cool to know we’re following in the footsteps of some of the Duke greats.”
He’s made his mark in his one season at Duke, helping the team on a deep postseason run while also earning ACC All-Defensive Team honors. And he’s made an impact off the court as well. James’ work in the community earned him a place on the prestigious Allstate Good Hands Team for “exceptional achievements in community service, athletics and academics.”
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James is driven by a passion for serving others and a strong faith in God. A selfless mindset was instilled in him by his family from an early age, and he made regular deliveries of McDonald’s sandwiches to people experiencing homelessness with teammate Sandy Ryan while at Tulane. What began as a two-person operation has turned into a nonprofit organization called Ryan’s Giving Tree and, ultimately, the Sion James Foundation. According to its website, James’ foundation focuses on “strengthening local communities by supporting disadvantaged groups within them.”
“I believe in a God who serves and who literally came to earth to serve us, and I feel like it’s our responsibility to do the same,” he told The Chronicle in January.
Serving others has become a foundational part of James’ life, and there is a powerful humility in the way he approaches basketball as well as the way he lives his life.
“It’s all about doing things not for yourself, and kind of forgetting about yourself a little bit and really pouring into the people around you,” James said.
The Sugar Hill, Georgia, native openly shares about his faith on social media too. At the beginning of the past two seasons, James has posted a prayer for him and his teammates on Instagram.
“Dear God, I thank you for another year of living my dream,” he wrote at the beginning of the 2024-25 season. “As we start a new season tomorrow, I pray that me and my teammates represent you well and make Durham proud. I pray that we maximize every opportunity and continually use our platforms for good. And I pray that we learn to love each other more every day. In Jesus name!”
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No matter how his college career ends, James knows he is not defined by what he does on the basketball court.
“Playing sports is really, really cool,” he told The Chronicle. “I’m glad we get to do this for a living. But there are a lot of things a lot more important than a ball going into a basket.”
Duke (35-3) faces fellow No. 1 seed Houston (34-4) in the second national semifinal in San Antonio on Saturday at 8:49 p.m. ET. The winner will face one of the other two No. 1 seeds — Auburn or Florida — in Monday night’s national championship game.
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