People make choices every day, ranging from the mundane – like deciding what to eat for breakfast – to the potentially life-altering – like pondering which internship to accept after graduation.,”If Dominic James learned one thing this summer, it's that life is full of choices, no matter who you are.

For James, his big choice came during an offseason in which he engaged in a brief flirtation with the NBA. The junior guard declared for the 2007 NBA Draft after last season without hiring an agent but decided to withdraw his name and return to Marquette this fall.

Despite the fact that James is the most publicized player on the Golden Eagles' roster, head coach Tom Crean said he found there was still room for improvement. Crean listed shot selection,decision making and ball mov ement as key areas of focus.

"The things that I found (I needed to improve on) were pretty much things I already knew," James said. "In terms of me being more of a point guard and increasing my shooting percentage.

"The main thing I think (scouts) are looking for is if I can do it on a consistent basis, and I know I can give them that. The great thing is that I have an opportunity to show it."

James does need to make great strides in field goal percentage this season. He connected on just more than 38 percent of his attempts last year. He also led the team in three-point attempts, with 184, despite making just 27 percent.

His 167 assists were tops on the Golden Eagles' squad, but his 89 turnovers also put him second on the team in that category.

But like James said he already knows what he needs to fix about his on-court game. What isn't quite as obvious are the flaws Crean said James needs to fix when he leaves the basketball court.

"The Orlando Pre-Draft camp and the workout, those things are good, but the NBA is far too smart to base something on a four-day workout," Crean said. "They base it on your body of work. … It's about what you do here, about how you improve here and how you make our team better."

Last season, the Golden Eagles relied heavily on the trio of Wesley Matthews, Jerel McNeal and James. But Crean said the one thing all three must do is figure out ways to make each other better.

"Any time you have three guys who have done the things they have, I always look at them as three together," Crean said. "They all three complement each other, but the thing that the three of them don't do as well as they need to yet is make each other better. They're not quite ready to hold each other accountable day-in and day-out on the floor."

As the team's leading scorer last season at 14.9 points per game, James said he understands that there is a certain focus on his ability to lead the team from the point guard position.

"I'm more of a lead-by-example guy, instead of a vocal guy," James said. "But as a junior, having that experience under my belt I'm trying to be more vocal and try to show these guys what it takes to compete in the Big East."

James has gathered plenty of accolades to go along with that experience while spending two years as the face of the Marquette men's basketball program, but Matthews said his fellow classmate still understands what he needs to change this season.

"I think he's just humble; he's another year older and another year into the game," Matthews said. "He has all the talent in the world, all the potential in the world, but if you don't win, your chances are rough. By us winning, that means he is impacting us. The more we win, that means we're doing something good."

Crean said the days of Marquette being considered "young" are over, and a sense of maturity on and off the floor needs to flow from the more experienced players like James.

"A leader is not just somebody who takes a charge in practice, a leader is somebody who leads the way in the classroom," he said. "He leads the way off the court, he leads the way in what is said in the locker room. And that's where I think our juniors and seniors are fully capable of that."

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