Josh James joined the coaching staff as the Director of Basketball Operations in July 2018, one year after completing a four-year career in the Blue and White. James was a two-year captain for the Hawks, helping MU to a pair of MAAC regular season titles.
James has now been on staff for the 2021 regular season title, as well as the best start in program history in 2021-22.
“I’m so proud to be able to add Josh to our coaching staff,” said Rice. “He was such a prominent part of our program for four years, and I’m so excited to bring one of our young guys back to start his career in basketball. Josh showed in his time as a player that he deserves this, and he will do a great job working with our guys.”
James is a part of the winningest class in program history, collecting 84 wins in four seasons including six high-major victories. James helped the Hawks to wins over UCLA, Notre Dame, USC, Georgetown, Rutgers and Memphis between his junior and senior seasons, with the Hawks capturing regular season titles in both years. His junior campaign of 2015-16 saw MU set the programs wins record with 28, and his senior year featured the program’s longest winning streak of 18 games.
“I’m extremely grateful and blessed to be able to be in this position,” said James. “I thank Coach Rice and Dr. McNeil for giving me this opportunity. It’s really exciting to be back united with my family and take on a different role. I’m extremely excited to work with these guys to help them get to where they need to be.”
Individually, James scored 584 points and started 70 of his 111 games played as a Hawk. He compiled 212 career assists, a mark that ranks 15th in Monmouth history, while his 111 games are tied for 26th most in school history. He dished out nine assists on 11/30/13 against North Carolina A&T, the second most in the history of the OceanFirst Bank Center.
