Damion Marquez Williams James (born October 7, 1987 in Hobbs, New Mexico

Hobbs, New Mexico

Hobbs is a city in Lea County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 28,657 at the 2000 census.Hobbs is the principal city of the Hobbs, New Mexico Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Lea County.-Geography:...

) is an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 professional basketball player for the New Jersey Nets

New Jersey Nets

The New Jersey Nets are a professional basketball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...

 of the NBA

National Basketball Association

The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...

. He previously played for the Texas Longhorns

Texas Longhorns men's basketball

The Texas Longhorns men's basketball team represents The University of Texas at Austin in NCAA Division I men's basketball competition. The Longhorns currently compete in the Big 12 Conference....

 men's basketball team.

High school career

As a senior at Nacogdoches High School James averaged 23.5 points, 15.2 rebounds, 5.2 blocks, 4.3 assists, and 2.5 steals per game.

College career

At 6-foot-7, 230-pounds he was considered one of the top prospects in the country coming out of high school. He had initially signed to play college basketball at the University of Oklahoma

University of Oklahoma

The University of Oklahoma is a coeducational public research university located in Norman, Oklahoma. Founded in 1890, it existed in Oklahoma Territory near Indian Territory for 17 years before the two became the state of Oklahoma. the university had 29,931 students enrolled, most located at its...

 for head coach Kelvin Sampson

Kelvin Sampson

Kelvin Sampson is an assistant coach of the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association. He previously was a men's college basketball coach at Montana Tech , Washington State University , the University of Oklahoma and Indiana University .-Early life and coaching:Sampson was born in the...

. When Sampson took the head coaching position at the Indiana University

Indiana University

Indiana University is a multi-campus public university system in the state of Indiana, United States. Indiana University has a combined student body of more than 100,000 students, including approximately 42,000 students enrolled at the Indiana University Bloomington campus and approximately 37,000...

 the administration at OU released James from his letter of intent and he switched his decision to Texas.

Freshman season

James started all 35 games, along with fellow freshmen Kevin Durant

Kevin Durant

Kevin Wayne Durant is an American professional basketball player for the Oklahoma City Thunder of the National Basketball Association . A 6'9" small forward/shooting guard who is also capable of playing power forward, Durant was the consensus 2007 National College Player of the Year and the...

 and D. J. Augustin

D. J. Augustin

Darryl Gerard "D. J." Augustin, Jr. is an American professional basketball player. He played point guard for the University of Texas Longhorns from 2006–2008. He was drafted ninth overall by the Charlotte Bobcats of the National Basketball Association in 2008...

, in leading the Longhorns to a 25–10 record. James averaged 25.9 minutes per contest, with 7.6 points and 7.2 rebounds.

Sophomore season

James averaged 13.2 points and 10.5 rebounds helping Texas win a share of the Big 12 regular season title. While talking about the Texas Longhorns on Selection Sunday, Dick Vitale said that James may be the most athletic player in all of college basketball. He also shot 43.6% from behind the arc.

Junior Season

James, along with A. J. Abrams and Justin Mason, started all 35 games for the Texas Longhorn basketball team that went 23–12 and advanced to the second round of the 2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

2009 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament

The first and second round games were played at the following sites:First and Second Rounds: Thursday and Saturday, March 19 and 21, 2009-Qualifying teams:-Brackets:Results to date * – Denotes overtime periodAll times in U.S. EDT....

. He averaged 15.4 points and 9.2 rebounds with double doubles in 16 of the games on his way to earning a spot on the All-Big 12 Conference Second Team. On April 15, 2009, James entered his named into the 2009 NBA Draft

2009 NBA Draft

The 2009 NBA Draft was held on June 25, 2009, the WaMu Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. In this draft, National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur U.S...

, without hiring an agent, and thus retaining his NCAA eligibility. On June 13, 2009, it was reported that James pulled his name from the 2009 NBA Draft after not being guaranteed a first-round draft position.

NBA

James was selected by the Atlanta Hawks

Atlanta Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are part of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association .-The first years:...

 with the 24th overall pick in the 2010 NBA Draft

2010 NBA Draft

The 2010 NBA Draft was held on June 24, 2010 at the Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City, New York. The draft, which started at 7:00 pm Eastern Daylight Time , was broadcast in the United States on ESPN. In this draft, National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur...

. His rights were traded to the New Jersey Nets

New Jersey Nets

The New Jersey Nets are a professional basketball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...

 for the rights of the 27th pick Jordan Crawford

Jordan Crawford

Jordan Lee Crawford is an American basketball player who currently plays for the Washington Wizards. He played collegiately at Indiana University and then Xavier University. His brother is Joe Crawford II, who has also played professional basketball...

 and the 31st pick Tibor Pleiss in the 2010 NBA draft. The Hawks then sold Pleiss' rights to the Oklahoma City Thunder. On December 9, 2010, James got his first career start against the Dallas Mavericks

Dallas Mavericks

The Dallas Mavericks are a professional basketball team based in Dallas, Texas. They are members of the Southwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Basketball Association , and the reigning NBA champions, having defeated the Miami Heat in the 2011 NBA Finals.According to a 2011...

.

Regular season

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| align="left" | 2010–11

2010–11 NBA season

The 2010–11 NBA season was the 65th season of the National Basketball Association . The 2011 NBA All-Star Game was played on February 20, 2011 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The Dallas Mavericks defeated the Miami Heat in six games, 4 games to 2, to win their first NBA title, and...

| align="left" | New Jersey

New Jersey Nets

The New Jersey Nets are a professional basketball team based in Newark, New Jersey. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Basketball Association...

| 25 || 9 || 16.1 || .447 || .000 || .643 || 3.4 || .8 || .6 || .5 || 4.4
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| align="left" | Career
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| 25 || 9 || 16.1 || .447 || .000 || .643 || 3.4 || .8 || .6 || .5 || 4.4

See also

• 2006 high school boys basketball All-Americans
  2006 high school boys basketball All-Americans
  An All-American team is an honorary sports team that is generally composed of the best amateur players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply "All-Americans". The term is used in...
  
  
• 2010 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans
  2010 NCAA Men's Basketball All-Americans
  An All-American team is an honorary sports team composed of the best amateur players of a specific season for each team position—who in turn are given the honorific "All-America" and typically referred to as "All-American athletes", or simply "All-Americans". Although the honorees generally do not...