Sion James has helped Duke reach No. 1. Why his off-the-court work is just as important

Sion James’ addition to Duke’s basketball team provided the missing piece the coaching staff sought while building a championship roster last spring.

His transfer from Tulane, while also providing the No. 1 Blue Devils with a sturdy, versatile starting guard, also brought a charitable aspect to the Durham community that’s earned James accolades on and off the court.

Last week, just before the Blue Devils started their ACC Tournament run to a league championship in Charlotte, James was named was one of 20 college athletes named to the Allstate Good Works team. The award recognizes college athletes for their off-court charitable endeavors.

“I don’t do any of this for recognition,” James told the News & Observer, “but it’s it’s nice getting national recognition, more than anything, an opportunity to continue to promote, to give more attention to the needs out there in the community. “

He founded the Sion James Foundation during his first four seasons of college basketball at Tulane and continued the work when he transferred to Duke last summer.

“I know that as I go forward in my career, in my life, I want social impact to be part of who I am and part of what I do, wherever I am,” James said, “and that’s really where the foundation came from the first place. But I knew when I got to Durham that I wanted to, even though I was only gonna be here for a short time, I wanted give back while I was here.”

While helping the Blue Devils (31-3) to so much on-court success this season, James also partnered with Samaritan’s Feet to provide 4,000 underserved individuals with new shoes. His One-4-All Toy Drive delivered 1,800 toys to children.

He’s still working with Samaritan’s Feet to provide another 1,600 pairs of shoes to elementary school aged children in Asheville who are still feeling the impact of Hurricane Helene’s flood waters that hit last October.

That work, to help hurricane victims, is a “full-circle” moment, James said. It during his time playing at Tulane, when Hurricane Ida hit New Orleans in August 2021, when the Georgia native became intensely driven to help those in need.

“As students, we had to leave the city for six weeks, I believe,” James said. “Me and one of my teammates we just had the thought that we could just easily pack up and leave, just get in the car and drive back to Atlanta. No problem. But there was an entire section of the community that didn’t have the opportunity. It was the homeless, which is a big problem in New Orleans, and didn’t have the opportunity to do anything about it.”

He and his Tulane teammate, Sandy Ryan, founded Ryan’s Giving Tree, a nonprofit that’s still in existence, helping to tackle homelessness and food insecurity in New Orleans and Durham.

During his four seasons playing for the Green Wave, which saw him start 106 games, James twice win the American Athletic Conference’s sportsmanship award. Last season, he averaged 14 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.6 steals per game.

He entered his name in the NBA Draft last April while also putting his name in the NCAA Transfer Portal in case he decided to return to school for his fifth and final season. In early May, with Duke coach Jon Scheyer having reworked a roster that had only two rotation players returning from last season’s 27-9 squad, James visited the Blue Devils and committed to join them for this season.

Over the summer, as the players like Cooper Flagg and Kon Knueppel who made up the nation’s top-rated recruiting class arrived as freshman, James, fellow transfers Mason Gillis and Maliq Brown plus returning players Tyrese Proctor and Caleb Foster worked to make sure all their talents fit together well.

The entire group clicked, which James a big part of it.

“They set great examples for our young guys, and then they play to win, and they’re not afraid of anything, Scheyer said of his older veterans. “We call them connectors. Man, they’re connectors.”

James moved into the starting lineup by December and played well enough to make the ACC’s all-defensive team. His averages -- 8.7 points, 4.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 0.9 steals -- aren’t what they were at Tulane last season. But that doesn’t matter to him or the Blue Devils. He’s still giving Duke what it needs in all areas of the game and is a big reason why the Blue Devils are among the favorites to win the NCAA Tournament.

“He’s such a utility guy,” Scheyer said, “He’s just such a winning player.”

That impact extends off the court, where James continues to help others through his charity work. It’s all come together for James and the Blue Devils.

“We naturally click on the court for a number of reasons,” James said. “But off the court, when it comes to service, when it comes to just hanging out, there’s just a ton that we do to be connected and to buy in together.”

This story was originally published March 20, 2025 at 5:30 AM with the headline "Sion James has helped Duke reach No. 1. Why his off-the-court work is just as important."

Steve Wiseman

The News & Observer

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Steve Wiseman was named Raleigh News & Observer and Durham Herald-Sun sports editor in May 2025. He covered Duke athletics, beginning in 2010, prior to his current assignment. In the Associated Press Sports Editors national contest, he placed in the top 10 in beat writing in 2019, 2021 and 2022, breaking news in 2019, event coverage in 2025 and explanatory writing in 2018. Before coming to Durham in 2010, Steve worked for The State (Columbia, SC), Herald-Journal (Spartanburg, S.C.), The Sun Herald (Biloxi, Miss.), Charlotte Observer and Hickory (NC) Daily Record covering beats including the NFL’s Carolina Panthers and New Orleans Saints, University of South Carolina athletics and the S.C. General Assembly. He’s won numerous state-level press association awards. Steve graduated from Illinois State University in 1989.