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People SearchFind an individual who either played a sport or was a member of a support group. Search by last name by clicking on the first letter of the person's last name.
Mr. Adam "Big Game" James
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Home Phone: 337-988-4197 Mouton, James grow into roles March 03, 2006 – Dan McDonald Ross Mouton and Adam James have been playing basketball together for so long, the moves become almost instinctive. “We know each other’s strengths and weaknesses,” James said. “I can pretty much tell when I throw it to him whether he’s going to shoot or not.” In the last four University of Louisiana games, James has had a lot of premonitions. Mouton has had 14 3-point baskets in that streak including five in a row in Saturday’s 69-59 regular-season-ending win at Arkansas-Little Rock. Maybe it’s not by coincidence that the two Lafayette and St. Thomas More products have played their best at the end of the season, and their Ragin’ Cajun squad has won seven of eight games entering this weekend’s Sun Belt Conference Tournament in Murfreesboro, Tenn. “I hope whatever’s gotten into Ross stays there,” said Cajun coach Robert Lee. “He’s definitely got the green light now. It’s been amazing the way he’s shooting, but it’s because he’s put in the work. He’s there after practice every day working on his shot. “Adam’s got an amazing amount of heart, and the last half of the year it’s showed in his play. He’s made some big plays for us just because he works and works and never gives up.” The pair came to UL after successful careers at STM and played sparingly as natural freshmen. Playing time increased last year, with Mouton playing in 31 games and James in 29, but their biggest impacts didn’t come until after the start of this year’s conference season. “It’s definitely been a lot more fun the last four weeks,” said James, whose 1.8 point and 2.0 rebound averages don’t reflect his contributions. “Just winning feels much better, but my role has been more important than it ever has been in my college career … rebounding, playing defense, and since our offense is generated by our defense we’ve really tried to pick it up there.” Mouton is averaging 4.6 points in league play, but he’s averaging 12.8 per game over the last four games while making 14-of-25 (56.0) outside the arc. “Once a few shots drop, it definitely helps your confidence,” Mouton said. “Taking good shots in rhythm is the biggest key. Coach (assistant coach Rennie) Bailey said we look more mature and more confident as a team, and I think it’s because we’ve been more patient, managed the shot clock better and gotten better shots.” The pair began playing together with the Lafayette Biddy All-Stars at age 8, playing on 8 1/2-foot goals that James was always closer to than his teammates. “He was always taller than the rest of us,” Mouton said of James. “I usually stayed at the forward slot and we’ve sort of stuck there all our lives.” That is, except for one year. “My dad (himself a former college player at then-Northeast Louisiana) was coach one year,” James said, “and he made me play point guard to better my ball handling skills.” Later, it was the Lafayette Aces and the Lafayette Stars in AAU play prior to going to St. Thomas More, where the two were seniors on a 32-6 Cougar team that reached the state Class 4A finals. Success was almost assumed at STM, and winning back-to-back Sun Belt Tournament titles and making the NCAA Tournament in their first two college seasons seemed only a carryover of that success. That made the first two-thirds of this season – loss streaks of four and five games and a 5-14 mark before the recent turnaround – a nightmare for the pair. “It was really getting depressing,” Mouton said. “But we’ve picked a great time of year to pick it up, going into the conference tournament.” Originally published March 3, 2006
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