In an age of entitlement, Bernard James brings a breath of fresh air to the college basketball scene. The big man for Florida State didn’t evolve by playing summer tournaments in state-of-the-art gyms. He learned the game between tours of duty, including three in Iraq.
While his contemporaries were recruited to play at the major college level, he enlisted in the Air Force. Basketball was neither an option for James, and, in his mind, nor was high school.
That entitlement and disconnection he felt from others around him prompted him to drop out of Windsor Forest in Savannah at 16.
“I hated all the social pressures and you having to have the best clothes on and that determining your status,” James said. “You having a nice car or nice clothes has nothing to do with what you’ve done; it’s what your parents have done for you.”
He’d been an A and B student before skipping school took its toll on his grades in high school. He might have been the only high school dropout who spent his days reading books at Barnes and Noble. Watching others head down a path of drug-dealing and jail time inspired James to get his GED and enlist in the Air Force.
The son of a military family -- his stepfather Darryl Cook is an Army veteran -- saw his way out. And in six years of service to his country, James not only learned to play basketball, but appreciate it.
James was pushing 6-foot-4 and 180 pounds in the ninth grade, when he made his first attempt at basketball, but skipping the conditioning practices didn’t endear him to the coaches and he got cut. In the Air Force, skipping wasn’t an option, not even for an intramural team, after his supervisor on his first assignment at Beale Air Force Base in Yuba, Calif., volunteered him for that night’s game after one look at him.
James showed a knack for rebounding and blocking shots. His supervisor helped James develop the rest, even if it meant reading up on the latest drills on the Internet. James blossomed and was chosen for an All-Air Force team. He played three months of the year, when duty allowed.
Playing at an armed forces tournament in Las Vegas, James was spotted by an ACC referee, who called some league coaches he knew. FSU coach Leonard Hamilton first saw James play in 2005, but James still owed the Air Force two more years of service before he could enroll at Tallahassee Community College.
During James’ third Iraq tour, he worked as a security guard at Camp Bucca, a detainment center for 22,000 prisoners. On June 9, 2007, he stood 75 yards from where mortar fire exploded, killing six detainees and wounding 67 others. He was knocked off his feet and suffered ringing in his ears, but came away with a broader perspective.
“Just getting a real clear view that there are people out there that want to hurt you just because you’re an American, that was big for me," James said. "That gave me a much greater appreciation for what we have here in the states.”
He’s a senior now in his second season at Florida State, and the team’s elder statesman, turning 27 on Feb. 7.
His teammates call him “Sarge,” after first labeling him "The Admiral" against his wishes.
“First, I wasn’t an officer,” said James, who is a former staff sergeant. “And No. 2, that’s David Robinson’s thing. I like Sarge a lot better.”
Sarge and the Seminoles (9-6, 0-1 ACC) play Tuesday night at Virginia Tech. James, 6-10 and 240 pounds, is one of the better big men in the ACC. He’s sixth in rebounding (8.7 per game) and fourth in blocked shots (2.4 per game).
He might be considered raw, but he’s coachable.
Hamilton said he saw a change in James after the Florida game last year, when Hamilton whispered in his ear on the bench that he had the talent to compete with their big guys.
“It took him a while to adjust, but he’s there now,” Hamilton said. “He’s a confident youngster and he’s anxious to prove, ‘I got this now.’"
About the Author
