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There is a saying that adorns the shorts worn by members of the men's basketball team.

The saying reads "Just today." It's simple, maybe even a little cliche, but it's a phrase that coach Buzz Williams, and his players, regard as more than hollow rhetoric.

And it's a phrase that holds special meaning for senior guard Dominic James, who saw his playing career at Marquette ended by a broken foot early in a loss to Connecticut Wednesday.

In his career with Marquette, a period that spanned a university-record 128 games, James gave fans quite a few "todays" to remember.

From his sophomore year — when he tallied Marquette's final 18 points in a 65-62 win over Valparaiso — to his senior campaign — when he hit a three pointer with 0.4 seconds left to beat North Carolina State 68-65 — he was remarkable.

For those of you who don't remember, James came to Marquette the most celebrated member of a recruiting class that included Jerel McNeal and Wesley Matthews — the second and third elements of the so-called "Big Three."

He averaged 15.3 points per game in that first season, scoring 473 points and topping Doc Rivers' Marquette freshman scoring record that had stood for 25 seasons. He was named Big East Rookie of the Year and was a unanimous selection to Big East All-Rookie team.

McNeal eventually supplanted James as Marquette's go-to scorer last season, as James' scoring slipped from 14.9 ppg as a sophomore to 12.9 ppg as a junior. In many games this season James was probably Marquette's fourth option — behind McNeal, the suddenly aggressive Matthews and forward Lazar Hayward.

But as James' scoring role diminished, he re-invented himself as the Golden Eagles' offensive facilitator and most reliable on-ball defender. He dished out 631 assists in his Marquette career, an average of 4.9 per game. He increased his steal totals from 50 as a freshman (in 31 games) to 62 through the first 27 games of his senior campaign, while often locking down the opposition's best weapon.

"I came in, and I was getting a lot of attention," James said. "I felt like this year, I was the best I've ever been, running the team. I understand fully what it means to be a point guard, to sacrifice."

That ability to sacrifice his own good was on full display against Connecticut. No more than 30 minutes removed from the official end of his college playing career there was James, on the Marquette sideline, coaching his replacement Maurice Acker.

"He was just being a coach with me out there, just telling me what I needed to know," Acker said. "It's a big loss."

There have been plenty of complaints about James over the years (in this space and others). He was too cocky. He shot too much. He missed too many free throws. He was polarizing — it seemed like you hated him, or you loved him.

But his true worth was never more evident than at halftime of Marquette's game against Louisville Sunday. The Golden Eagles played 20 minutes of basketball, tallying one single assist. Without their floor leader, the Golden Eagles shot just 31.3 percent and scored only 25 points.

And love him or hate him, James was the central member of a class that carved Marquette a permanent spot on the college basketball map.

"When you take away what he gave to our team.some of the things that he did for our team," Williams said, "we've never had a practice without Dominic."

From high-flying dunks to jaw-dropping dishes, James' career at Marquette was dotted with the spectacular. It might seem strange, then, that his career was ended by a simple unfortunate step.

"I think it all played out the way it was supposed to," a resilient James said. "This is my story."

And we were lucky to see every day of it.