Shawn James was hired as an assistant coach in July, 2022. In his two seasons at Whitman, the Blues have experienced a very strong record of success on and off the court, with an overall record of 42-12 (29-7 NWC), back-to-back conference titles, two All-Region Players, seven All-NWC Players, one NWC MVP, and a 100% graduation rate. He is heavily involved in recruiting student-athletes from all over the US, as well as internationally. He has also assisted with the Reese’s Division I All Star Game in both years.
In the 2023-24 season, the Blues had a record of 20-7 (13-3 NWC), won a share of the regular season conference title, and advanced to the conference championship game. Shawn assisted with the development of an All-Region player (Jai Deshpande), the Northwest Conference Defensive Player of the Year (Grant Hunt), and two additional All-Northwest Conference players (Jander Cline & Ali Efe Isik). The Blues were also the 4th most efficient offense in the country, and had two players shoot 50/40/88 from the field.
In the 2022-23 season, the Blues had a record of 22-5 (14-2 NWC), won the regular season conference title outright, and advanced to the conference championship game. Shawn was instrumental in the development of the Northwest Conference MVP and All-Region honoree (Xzavier Lino), as well as an additional All-Northwest Conference player (Walter Lum). The team also received the NABC Team Academic Excellence Award, and numerous student-athletes received the NABC Honors Court Award.
Before arriving at Whitman, Shawn spent the previous four years at Eastern Washington University. In his last two seasons with the Eagles, he served as the Eagles' Director of Basketball Operations and then as Special Assistant to the Head Coach. During his span there, he assisted with the development of two Big Sky MVPs (Tanner Groves & Mason Peatling), ten Big Sky All-Conference players, one Defensive Player of the Year (Kim Aiken Jr), one Reserve of the Year (Tyler Robertson), and one Rookie of the Year (Ethan Price). The team also won the Big Sky twice, and made the NCAA Tournament in 2020-21, where they lost to Kansas in the Round of 64. Five of his former players from EWU are currently playing professionally.
James also brings NBA experience to his role. From 2017 to 2018, he served as a player development intern for the Dallas Mavericks where he assisted with practices and player development sessions. In his time there he also helped with pre-draft workouts, free agent mini-camps and summer league operations. Some players he worked with include Dirk Nowitzki, Harrison Barnes, Maxi Kleber, Dorian Finney-Smith, and Dwight Powell.
Originally from Plano, Texas, James played his collegiate ball at the University of Redlands, where he graduated with his Bachelor’s in 2016. He was a part of the 2012-13 SCIAC Championship team. He also holds a Master’s degree from Eastern Washington University, which he received in 2020.
