Mike James Takes Advantage of His Minutes, Helps Vanderbilt Take Down Ole Miss – Sports Illustrated

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NASHVILLE – Vanderbilt forward AK Okereke drove the ball into the middle of the paint after taking a pass from guard Tyler Tanner. Okereke’s drive to the basket was halted, but he found his teammate Mike James wide open on three-point line. James hit the three-pointer calmly, as if he were warmups and gave Vanderbilt a critical 70-63 lead in the final minutes in the win over Ole Miss.
James’ performance was easily his best of the season. He finished the game with a season-high nine points and came away with a season-high nine rebounds as well. His performance was just short of a double-double, but it went a long way to helping his team survive.
“He’s really establishing a good role on our team right now. He’s made big shots and I thought his third three was huge,” Vanderbilt head coach Mark Byington said.
James hit three threes in the game. He shot 3-for-9 in the game, including 3-for-8 from three alongside his rebounds and two assists. While his threes were huge contributors in the win, including his final one, Byington felt that James’ rebounding ability was the real difference maker.
Vanderbilt has been a team that has struggled rebounding the ball since the start of SEC play, but it has improved over its last three games. Vanderbilt and Ole Miss each finished the game with 33 rebounds. It may not be a jarring stat, but it is an improvement from the games where Vanderbilt has been outrebounded by double digits and that says something.
“We were struggling as a team rebounding and sometimes in traffic rebounding. And for him to come in and grab those were very important for us,” Byington said. “We talk about making winning plays and I think a lot of people will see the threes that he made. But those rebounds were huge.”
Mike James earned his moment Saturday with his performance. James transferred to Vanderbilt from NC State where he sat out the 2024-2025 season with an injury. But James never quit on his collegiate career despite not being able to play a year ago. James has consistently put the work in and started to find himself into his own role in the rotation.
His teammates have noticed the work he has put all season leading up to his performance against Ole Miss as well. After the win, Okereke talked about how James has always been ready for his moment.
“I have a lot of admiration for him. He’s a professional. When he was out of the rotation, nothing changed from his routine. He really just approaches the game with a very mature mindset,” Okereke said. “A lot of guys would have honestly folded and kind of mailed it in, but he stayed ready. Just through his workout regime, and you can see when he’s out there, he’s ready to play every single time.”
James ended up playing 26 minutes off the bench, the most he has played in a game this season. James’ increased role was a result of the Commodores being without their second-leading scorer in Duke Miles. With his additional minutes, James took advantage of the opportunity he was given and came up huge.
James was the leading rebounder in the game and was active on both sides of the floor. James was able to find himself open consistently beyond the arc in addition to what the production he was able to give on the boards.
The question going forward is what his role will look like going forward. Can Mike James be a guy that can step up more often, whether it be shooting the three or being a good rebounder? Byington certainly sees his ability to make clutch plays.
“I think what Mike’s figured out – and compliments to him – he’s figured out how to make plays on a winning team. And that’s different. If you’re playing basketball and the score is lopsided or nothing’s on the line, it’s kind of free and it’s not the same,” Byington said. “And giving him grace because he missed his entire year last year with injuries and giving him a chance to kind of develop into the season, I think we’re seeing that he can make plays along with the threes that help us win.”
Graham Baakko is a writer for Vanderbilt Commodores On SI, primarily covering football, basketball and baseball. Graham is a recent graduate from the University of Alabama, where he wrote for The Crimson White, WVUA-FM, WVUA 23 as he covered a variety of Crimson Tide sports. He also covered South Carolina athletics as a sportswriting intern for GamecockCentral.
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