Bio

Diana Kay James

Mississippi Gulf Coast Junior College (1965-1967) / Basketball, Tennis
Gulfport, Mississippi

From the moment her dad converted a dirt patch in their yard to a basketball court by putting up a used goal, Kay James has loved shooting hoops and coaching players.

"The goal had a backboard, so it was the best in the neighborhood, All the kids and I would play until it got dark. I've just grown up loving the game."

James's feel and knowledge of the game allowed her to expand beyond her childhood court. She has coached on every level, from the pros at Madison Square Garden in New York City to kindergartens at summer camps Hattiesburg. Her first career-building step was in the fall of 1965 at the Perkinston Campus.

"My twin brother Danny received a basketball scholarship from the college, and I followed him up here. Coach Sue Ross got me involved with the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) since the college no longer had a women's team. It was pretty informal. You supplied your own shoes, but at least I was playing."

James played basketball in an era when athletics and women's roles in society were competing head to head, The Gulfport native still remembers clearly the stigma attached to female athletes, "People really had a problem seeing a woman as feminine if they played a competitive sport. It's rewarding to see how women's athletics have progressed in my lifetime. Female athletes are so much more respected now."

While at Perk, James also played tennis, the only Mississippi Association of Junior Colleges sport sanctioned for women at the time. In 1967, James along with her partner, Nancy Vogle, won the state's doubles title, which was a key reason the team won the overall state championship.

The following year, James transferred to Mississippi State College for Women, because it was the only four-year college in the state supporting women's basketball. Her senior season, the team won the AAU national championship. After graduating, James realized the only way to stay involved with basketball was through coaching. She earned her master's degree in 1970 and her first head coaching position a few months later.

“The state of Georgia was starting a. new physical education program geared toward high-school and college women. They needed female coaches. I didn’t have a lot of experience, but I had the education and was willing to move. It was the chance I needed.”

And she made the most of her chance. While at Berry College, James’ teams won three state and regional titles along with the Small College National Championship in 1976. The next year, James was lured back home with the offer to be the University of Southern Mississippi’s first full-time women’s basketball coach.

James spent the next 22 years coaching the Lady Eagles and became synonymous with women’s basketball throughout the country. During her tenure, James won five conference championships, made eight appearances in the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) tournament (including a run into the Sweet 16), was named the conference’s Coach of the Year four times and received the NCAA’s highest coaching award in 1998.

The summers were also busy for James — she coached on five Olympic-qualifying teams traveling to Asia and South America. She retired from coaching at USM in 1999, but two years later was part of the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA). James has returned to Hattiesburg and is working with the Christian-based Upward Basketball League coaching fundamentals to third and fourth-graders.

“I didn’t retire from basketball; I just retired from USM. The most important part of basketball isn’t the wins and losses but the relationships you form with plyers and coaches. Besides, I have to keep practicing. I’m sure there’s basketball in heaven. I’ve seen the pictures where the hoops are hanging over the angels’ heads. I’m sure there has to be a ball around.”