July 1, 2003
DU alum Mike James was made an unrestricted free agent by the Miami Heat on Monday, June 30, 2003, when the NBA team didn't offer the Amityville, N.Y. native a qualifying offer. James had completed his second season with Coach Pat Riley's squad averaging 7.8 points, 3.2 assists, 1.9 rebounds in 22.1 minutes per game. He started eight of the 78 games in which he played, missing action in just four contests last season.
The 1998 Duquesne graduate and 11th highest career scorer at Duquesne with 1,411 points was signed by Miami in July 2001 but had been released prior to the start of the regular season. He was re-signed to a full-year contract by the NBA team on Tuesday, Decemeber 19, 2001 after a 14-game stint with the Rockford Lightning of the Continental Basketball Association. James had ranked second in the league in scoring (23.3 points), sixth in three-point field-goal percentage (41.8, 38 for 91) and seventh in assists (6.3) and was twice named CBA American Conference Player of the Week.
James previously played in France. He spent the 2000-01 season with Sluc Nancy of the French Pro A League where he averaged 15.0 points, 5.1 assists, 3.6 rebounds, 1.97 steals and 34.3 minutes. He finished the season ranked 11th in the league in steals, 12th in assists, 22nd in minutes and 30th in points per game.
In his two seasons with Miami, James appeared in 93 games and averaged 7.0 points, 2.8 assists, 1.8 rebounds in just under 20 minutes per game.
