Exclusive: Inside Mike James' Up And Down Season For Vanderbilt Basketball – Sports Illustrated

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NASHVILLE—The idea that Mike James would be sitting there packing his stuff up in the corner of the Vanderbilt locker room all by himself after Vanderbilt’s SEC Tournament win over Tennessee a year ago would appear to be nearly unfathomable. Here he was packing his stuff up alone at his locker and getting ready to provide some space for Vanderbilt’s go-to guys to speak to the media. 
James almost appeared to be taken aback by the idea that a media member would stop him for a second as he went through his only interview of Vanderbilt’s three-game SEC Tournament run. In another life, James would’ve been one of the Vanderbilt players sitting with a group of five or six cameras surrounding his locker and an onslaught of questions coming at him. 
Vanderbilt appeared to consider James a flyer of sorts as a result of the MRSA infection in his knee that forced him to miss the 2024-25 season, but Vanderbilt coach Mark Byington told Vandy on SI over the summer that James was the “surprise” of the summer. Vanderbilt spoke highly of the way James approached his rehab process a season ago and got back to work early in the summer.
James has always had the tools to be one of Vanderbilt’s best players–just pop on his Louisville Synergy tape for evidence–and watching him in a publicized summer pick up run indicated that could be the case. 
A few months later, though, James is a near non-factor for this Vanderbilt team. He’s had his moments–like a timely make from 3-point range against Ole Miss and a few made shots in a win against Kentucky–but his season will be remembered mostly by what he didn’t achieve in regard to his expectations. 
“I did come in with expectations, but it is what it is,” James told Vandy on SI. “It's definitely different, but I've kind of embraced it. I've learned to embrace it and just be supportive for my teammates. And if I'm needed, I’ll just stay ready.”
James believes he can still have an impact on this Vanderbilt team–and Byington believes he can too–but his numbers will be largely forgettable by the end of this. The chances that he stays ready and doesn’t see the floor again aren’t all that low. James only subbed in to one of Vanderbilt’s three SEC Tournament games after Byington said he may work back into the lineup and didn’t even play a full minute while he was on the floor. 
The Vanderbilt guard averages just 1.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 0.7 assists per game. He’s shooting just 29.7% from the field as well as 33.3% from 3-point range. Vanderbilt uses James on less than 12% of its possessions, he’s only appeared in 22 games this season–he missed a few due to pink eye–and he’s started zero games for this Vanderbilt team. James averages 10.6 minutes per game and has played no more than 26 minutes in a game this season.
From that standpoint, this can’t help but be disappointing in regard to James’ expectations. 
James averaged double figures and started all 64 games he played in his two seasons at Louisville. There’s a reason he left, though. The two seasons James played at Louisville included the Cardinals finishing with a record of 12-52. James lost his first nine games as a college basketball player before Louisville moved to 1-9 in a December matchup with Western Kentucky. They lost six buy games in two years. They won just five league games. 
The Vanderbilt guard envisioned a role with this Vanderbilt team, but he joined it with the intention of finally finding a place on a winning team. That, at least, he’s accomplished as a member of this 26-win Vanderbilt team–which will play for its 27th win on Thursday against McNeese in the NCAA Tournament. If James can say coming out of this season, it’s that he’s finally gone dancing. 
“I was talking with my parents and they were like ‘it might not be everything you wanted, but it's something that you asked for,’” James said. “So, I'm just thankful and blessed to be a part of this team. It's a very special group and I'm just blessed to be experiencing this type of winner.”
Perhaps James won’t directly contribute to what Vanderbilt hopes is at least a second-weekend run in the NCAA Tournament. If it allows him to, though, he says he’s ready to give it something. 
James may not average double figures out in Oklahoma City like he imagined he would when he committed to Vanderbilt as a flyer in the transfer portal, but he’s not disengaged yet. Maybe nobody outside of Vanderbilt’s program will notice exactly what he does if he’s on the floor for limited minutes, but James is ready if Vanderbilt calls his name.
“Whatever they need from me, come in, play good defense, be a good cutter, make catch and shoot 3s, whatever they need from me,” James said, “Just come in and contribute, do what the coaches tell me to do.”
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Joey Dwyer is the lead writer on Vanderbilt Commodores On SI. He found his first love in college sports at nearby Lipscomb University and decided to make a career of telling its best stories. He got his start doing a Notre Dame basketball podcast from his basement as a 14-year-old during COVID and has since aimed to make that 14-year-old proud. Dwyer has covered Vanderbilt sports for three years and previously worked for 247 Sports and Rivals. He contributes to Seth Davis' Hoops HQ, Basket Under Review and Mainstreet Nashville.
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