NEW YORK — Hours after Marquette men’s basketball’s biggest win of the season over No. 4 UConn last Saturday, Nigel James Jr. was crying.
Why? Because head coach Shaka Smart had just informed him that he’d be adding another achievement to his ever-growing list of them.
As soon as the first-year point guard got back to his dorm, with walk-on Nash Walker and roommate Adrien Stevens by his side, Smart broke the news he was the 2025-26 Big East freshman of the year.
“I broke down crying,” James said Wednesday about the moment Smart called him. “Because I came a long way. A lot of people doubted me, my size, whether I was going to be good, whether I was going to be high-maintenance, things like that. But I’ve just grown here, I’ve matured as a young man and just want to keep growing here.”
The Huntington, New York native became the third Marquette player ever to earn the award, joining Henry Ellenson (2015-16) and Dominic James (2005-06). He also earned unanimous all-conference freshman team honors and was named to the All-Big East third team.
James Jr. averaged 19.3 points, 5.5 assists and 2.1 steals per game in conference play, marks that were all good enough to rank inside the top 3 of each respective stat. His scoring average is the league’s highest by a first-year since Carmelo Anthony in 2002-03, and he was one of four rookies in the country to have at least three 30-point performances in conference play.
“I’m not surprised,” head coach Shaka Smart said Wednesday afternoon. “Because NJ and Adrien Stevens were both guys that we felt could make a significant impact on our team.
“[Nigel’s] a guy that, the first time that I saw him play, you know Cody (Hatt) came in and said ‘You got to see this guy. He’s the exact type of point guard you love.’ And he was exactly right. He’s only gotten better since then.”
The first-year phenom’s 386 total points finished second in league play for total scoring behind Providence guard Jaylin Sellers. He was one of just two first-years (Darius Acuff Jr. of Arkansas) in the nation to contribute at least 19.0 points, 5.0 assists and 3.0 rebounds per outing in conference matchups.
This story was written by Matthew Baltz. He can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter/X @MatthewBaltzMU.
