BOISE, Idaho – It is Saturday afternoon, and Dominic James is lounging on a wooden bench in the center of the Marquette locker room at Taco Bell Arena.
He is clad in sweats, his left leg extended along the flat wooden surface of the bench. A brace is wrapped around his broken left foot, which is hooked up to a machine that acts as an ice pack, compressing and freezing the foot.
He's asked if there's any chance he'll play in Marquette's game against Missouri Sunday, in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
"Man, I wish," he says, laughing and shaking his head.
Looks like he'll get his wish.
Late Saturday night, James was given medical clearance to suit up for Marquette Sunday. James had been recovering from a fractured fifth metatarsal on his left foot, which he suffered against Connecticut Feb. 25. He had surgery to repair the break Feb. 27, and athletic trainer Ernest Eugene had estimated that his recovery time would be eight weeks.
Apparently, James needed just 22 days.
"These cases are known, have happened in elite athletes," Eugene said in a university press release. "He's been so dedicated being where he's supposed to be every day, doing what he needs to do, and he's surpassed every goal."
Marquette coach Buzz Williams said that James practiced with the team Saturday for about 90 minutes, and had been working out with the Golden Eagles since they arrived in Boise.
Still Williams stayed conservative in his expectations of James, who hasn't seen game action since the fourth minute of that late-February loss to the Huskies (six games).
"I don't know how much he'll be able to contribute," Williams said. "Medically he's been cleared, but how much he'll be able to contribute, I don't know."
Before his injury, James handled all the point guard duties for Marquette, playing 31.9 minutes per game. In those minutes, he averaged 11.4 points per game, but it was his ability to distribute the ball – he dished out 143 assists against 53 turnovers – that the Golden Eagles have really missed.
Since James' injury (including the Connecticut game) Marquette has shot 39.1 percent from the field (158-of-404) with a record of 2-5. James is arguably Marquette's best on-ball defender as well, often locking down the opposition's best offensive player.
Marquette will welcome any contribution he can make against Missouri, as the Tigers will try to implement a fast-paced style of play that could be trouble for the Golden Eagles' limited seven-man rotation.
After Marquette's win over Utah State Friday, forward Lazar Hayward seemed ready to face the Tigers without James, and with junior guard Maurice Acker at the point. Acker is averaging 2.9 ppg and 1.9 apg this season.
"It's going to be a different look and it may be a little bit difficult for our team, but it's not a hard adjustment," Hayward said Friday. "You can never replace a Dominic James, but Maurice Acker does a great job running our team."
Now, it seems, he might not have to.