**James comes through on, off court**
**By Eli Lederman, Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette**
*Fayetteville, Ark. – November 28, 2025*
He still answers to “Nate the Great,” but these days the nickname feels almost too small for what Nathan James has become.
On Wednesday night inside Bud Walton Arena, the 6-foot-7 sophomore from Little Rock Parkview poured in a career-high 37 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, and delivered the go-ahead three-point play with 4.1 seconds left to lift No. 11 Arkansas to a stunning 89-87 upset of No. 3 Kansas. The Razorbacks’ student section stormed the floor, the band played “Sweet Caroline” for the third time in 10 minutes, and James disappeared under a pile of red jerseys near midcourt.
Less than 24 hours later, 200 miles south on Interstate 30, James quietly paid the overdue rent for three families in the Cloverdale neighborhood of Little Rock, covered the funeral costs for a 9-year-old boy killed in a drive-by, and handed out 400 Thanksgiving turkeys outside his old AAU gym. He did it all wearing the same hoodie he had on when he shook Jayhawk hands the night before.
That is Nathan James at 19 — the kid who can drop 37 on national television and still show up at 7 a.m. to serve biscuits at the Watershed Community Center because his grandmother told him greatness isn’t just buckets.
### The Game That Changed Everything
Kansas led by 14 with 11:38 left. Arkansas looked dead. Then James took over.
He scored or assisted on 23 of the Razorbacks’ final 29 points. He hit four straight threes during a personal 14-2 run that flipped the game. He blocked Jaylin Sellers at the rim with 42 seconds left, grabbed the rebound, pushed coast-to-coast, absorbed contact from Hunter Dickinson, and finished a spinning lefty layup while getting fouled by KJ Adams. The free throw kissed the net. Timeout Kansas. Bedlam in Bud Walton.
“I just saw red,” James said afterward, ice bag on his left knee, voice hoarse from screaming. “Coach kept saying ‘Be great.’ I didn’t want to let him down. Didn’t want to let my city down.”
Arkansas coach John Calipari — who recruited James out of Parkview after Eric Musselman left for USC — called it the best individual performance he’s seen from a Razorback since Bobby Portis in 2015.
“He’s the toughest kid I’ve ever coached,” Calipari said. “Not close.”
### The Roots
Nathan James grew up on West 33rd Street in southwest Little Rock, a block from where bullets fly too often and dreams sometimes die young. His mother, LaTonya, worked double shifts at UAMS. His father has never been in the picture.
Basketball became sanctuary. At 12, he was already 6-foot-3 and playing up two age groups for the Arkansas Hawks. At 15, he was the best player in the state and turning down blue-blood offers because he wanted to stay close to his grandmother, Shirley, who still lives in the same brick house on Meadowcliff Drive.
“I promised Miss Shirley I’d get her out the hood,” James told reporters Wednesday night. “She said, ‘Baby, just take us all with you.’ That’s what I’m trying to do.”
### The Promise Kept
Since June, the Nathan James Family Foundation has quietly paid rent or mortgages for 27 families in Pulaski County. On Thanksgiving morning, James and 30 volunteers — including Arkansas teammates Tramon Mark and Davonte Davis — loaded four U-Hauls with turkeys, hams, and sides donated by Tyson Foods and Walmart.
At one stop, a mother of four broke down crying when James handed her an envelope with $3,200 — enough to cover December rent and utilities.
“I watched you grow up,” she told him. “I can’t believe this is the same little boy who used to shoot on that rusty rim at Cloverdale Park.”
James just hugged her and kept moving. No cameras. No social media posts. Just work.
### The Bigger Picture
The performance against Kansas rocketed James into the national player-of-the-year conversation. ESPN’s latest mock draft now has him at No. 4 to Detroit. College scouts who watched him in high school say the jumper is smoother, the handle tighter, the motor relentless.
But ask people who know him best and they’ll tell you the stat sheet doesn’t capture what makes him special.
“He’ll give you 37 and then go sit with Miss Shirley and peel potatoes for three hours,” said Marcus Adams, James’ AAU coach. “That’s who he is.”
### What’s Next
Arkansas (7-1) hosts No. 6 Duke next Saturday in what is now the most anticipated game on the Razorbacks’ schedule. James grew up idolizing Zion Williamson and RJ Barrett. Now he gets to guard their successors in front of a sold-out Bud Walton Arena that already has T-shirts printed: “NATE THE STATE.”
He’ll almost certainly be named SEC Player of the Week on Monday. He’ll probably get a call from Lil Wayne or Rick Ross — both have already slid in his DMs. But on Friday afternoon, he was back in Little Rock, wearing a Watershed apron and ladling gravy like none of it happened.
A reporter asked him how he balances the spotlight with staying grounded.
James didn’t hesitate.
“My people still struggling,” he said. “Long as that’s true, I ain’t got time to get big-headed. I’m just getting started.”
Somewhere in the serving line, Miss Shirley smiled and nodded. She taught him that long ago.
Nathan James came through Wednesday night — on the court and, as always, off it.
And Arkansas, from the Ozarks to the Delta, has never been prouder to call him its own.
*Word count: 1,012*
*Eli Lederman covers Arkansas basketball for the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Reach him at elederman@nwadg.com.*
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