Oct. 13, 2004

Duquesne alum Mike James ('98) will be starting his fourth NBA season Wednesday, October 13th, when his new team, the Milwaukee Bucks, hosts the Minnesota Timberwolves in their first pre-season game of the 2004-05 campaign.

Duquesne's number 11 career scorer will be vying for point guard minutes with another Buck free agent signee, second year guard Maurice Williams who played with the Jazz last season. The Bucks needed backcourt help after losing starter T.J. Ford with an injury during the 2003-04 season. Ford is still recovering from spinal cord surgery performed during the off-season.

James was signed to a three-year free agent contract by the Bucks on August 5, 2004 after helping the Detroit Pistons win the 2004 NBA Championship. He came off of the bench in all 22 of the Pistons' playoff games, averaging 2.6 points in 8.9 minutes per game.

The Amityville, New York native was traded from the Boston Celtics to the Pistons as part of a seven-player, three-team trade in February 2004. James averaged 6.3 points, 2.2 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.0 steal in just under 20 minutes in Detroit's final 26 regular season games.

At Boston, James had been the starting point guard for then-interim head coach John Carroll, the ex-Duquesne coach who recruited James to the Bluff. James started all 55 games for the Celtics, averaging 10.7 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.4 assists and 1.27 steals in 30.6 minutes per game.

James began his NBA career in 2001 with the Miami Heat after spending the first three years of his professional basketball career overseas, playing in Austria in 1998-99 and in France from 1999-2001.