[3] During high school he also played in the AAU for New York City sides Aneesa Sports,[4] and the Student-Athlete Broncos,[5] James was ranked a three star player by both Rivals.com and Scout.com, respectively seen as the 30th and 35th best in his position nationally for 2005.

[6][7] He committed to Rhode Island, playing in the Atlantic 10 Conference of the NCAA Division I, in August 2005, signing a letter of intent in November,[5] over other scholarship offers.

Furthermore, the 2011 NBA lockout canceled summer leagues and free agent camps, meaning he would have to move abroad to start his professional career.

[16][21] After one game in May 2012 for IBA side Jersey G-Force,[22] he attended NBA free agent camps,[16] before playing in the Las Vegas Summer League for the Atlanta Hawks.

[23] With the Summer League over, James returned to Europe, this time to Italy with second tier LegaDue side Basket Ferentino (in Italian).

He signed a one-year deal in August 2012 after General Manager Pierfrancesco Betti – who had seen him play in Portsmouth the year before – persuaded him through an exposé of the club's achievements in propelling foreign players, such as Manu Ginóbili, to stronger sides.

[25] After an unfruitful 2013 NBA Summer League with the Utah Jazz, with James not playing a single minute,[26] he joined Enel Brindisi in August 2013, signing a one-year deal with the first division Serie A side.

[29] However they were swept in the playoffs,[22] with James missing three free-throws in the dying seconds of the first game 73–75 defeat to Banco di Sardegna Sassari.

[29] Despite offers from around Europe, James stayed in Apulia for 2014–15, the only foreigner to do so, in order to "finish his work" after the previous season's playoff defeat.

[31] He would make his European debut, along with the club, in the Europe-wide third tier EuroChallenge,[32] ending with 10.7 points, 6 rebounds, 0.5 blocks against 3.2 fouls (the latter 3 in the tournament top 20) as Brindisi reached the quarterfinals.

[33] In Serie A, Brindisi would finish 6th of the regular season, with James again the 4th best shot blocker after contributing 1.1 blocks per game in around 29 minutes, adding 10.2 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.1 assists against 3.1 fouls and 2.7 turnovers.

With a good mid-range jump shot,[50] he's hard to guard due to his size, adding his play in the paint it makes him an all-around scoring threat when in form.

[15] Finishing college at 24, he was not foreseen at the time to change his playing style radically or develop exponentially,[15] though his work ethic was expected to ensure a long, sustained career.

[3] Three of his older brothers played basketball at a professional or collegiate level: His parents moved to the United States from Guyana in 1990 along with four children.

[8][22] He has a son, Jaylen, he cites fatherhood as one of his greatest accomplishments, another is graduating and a declared future goal of his would be to use his sociology degree to become a guidance counselor or mentor to children.