Marina’s Trifecta
By MIKEY HIRANO CULROSS
RAFU SPORTS EDITOR
Saturday, February 14, 2009

All three James brothers are starters for the Vikings, a testament to their father’s dedication as well as their own.

Photo illustration by MIKEY HIRANO CULROSS
From left, JJ, Garrett and Tyler James are all starters for Marina High School in Huntington Beach, a very rare circumstance at any advanced level.

Judy James
ALL FOR ONE: Tyler, left, JJ and Garrett on their Orange County Optimist Club team in 2000.

NEWPORT BEACH. –There’s something remarkable happening at Marina High
School basketball games this season, and while it’s not the “3-diculous” hoopla of a couple seasons ago, the fun still comes in threes.

A trio of brothers who not only play on the same team; they’re all starters.

“It’s fun at school, because people are always talking about all three James Brothers starting on the basketball team and they come to the games to watch,” said Tyler James, a 17-year-old junior whose older brother and co-captain, Garrett, is a senior on the squad. Their freshman kid bro, JJ, rounds out the triple James threat.

Forget trying to find many sets of three brothers who are first string on any team; just trying to locate three brothers in high school at the same time is quite a trick, although I was able to dig up some info on Kevin, John and James Lee, who played golf together at Hoffman Estates High in Illinois in 2005.

Enjoying a leisurely post-game dinner at Marie Callender’s after Marina’s 71-60 win over Newport Harbor last Wednesday, the brothers agreed that playing together at this level is unusual, but for them, not entirely unexpected.

“Nothing’s different, really,” said JJ, 16, who plays at shooting guard for the Vikings.

“We played together on our SEYO team, so everything’s pretty much the same. It’s a higher level now, a lot of taller guys.”

JJ said the influence of his older brothers not only helped his development in basketball, but also his choice to play at all.

“We always thought he would play baseball,” said Judy James, the boys’ mother. “He was a good pitcher, so we fully expected him to go that way.”

A few minutes with the brothers reveals a set of complementary personalities that would comprise a decent basis for a television sitcom.

Garrett, like his father, is a no-nonsense, task-oriented leader. He answers questions with a frank directness, the same approach he takes to basketball. At 5-foot 9, 175 pounds, the senior guard has a driven work ethic that involves practice, diet, weight training and conditioning and a mind that is always on the game.

And it shows; Garrett is the Sunset League leader in assists and steals, and is third in scoring. He was totaling 18.5 points per game after the Newport contest and is one of Marina’s main offensive weapons, scoring a whopping 32 against Pacifica earlier this season.

JJ is the shy and soft-spoken frosh, but when the waiter asked, “So, does the youngest get picked on?” everyone at the table chuckled. At six feet and 160 pounds, he’s the tallest of the James trio.

He’s also the true shooter of the three. Averaging just under 10 points per game in his first season, he is fourth in league with 51 three-pointers, prior to Feb. 6. His best offensive output was 25 against Valley Christian on Dec. 16.

“I usually do most of the yelling at him,” Garrett admitted. “I know I shouldn’t because he’s a freshman, but he takes it better than most guys.”

For his part, JJ has proven to be an astute pupil.

“They’ve been helping me by doing things like passing me the ball a lot, telling me what shots to take or which ones not to take,” JJ said.

Of course, the James show needs a comic and that’s where Tyler fits. Asked if the brothers’ status as starters has impressed any of the girls at school, he replied triumphantly, “Yep. All of them.” Garrett then reminded of the definition of the word, “modest.”

He’s no joke on the court, however. Heading into last weekend’s games, Tyler was third in the Sunset League in assists at 2.9 per game. Whereas Garrett works endlessly on refining his skills, Tyler is blessed a great deal of natural talent and agility and those qualities add up to scoring opportunities for his Marina teammates.

The boys started in the same place most kids would: in the family driveway, playing pickup games.

“Usually, it’s the three of us, playing 21 in our front yard,” Tyler said. Who wins? “Me, usually,” he chirped through a mouthful of chicken pot pie.

Alas, with the pressures of school, practice, training–and yes, a gaggle of girlfriends–the basket at the James house doesn’t get as much action as it used to.

“The rim’s too low,” Garrett reported. “We don’t want to get hurt dunking on each other. Before high school, we played out there everyday, just dunking.”

Many may remember the Marina High team of a couple of years ago, one that became nationally known for their “system”’ and for setting the national record for three point field goals in a season. The system–a strategy of rapid-fire substitution of all five players at once–has was abandoned last season and again this year, perhaps due in part to the starting lineup the Vikings were able to field for 2008-2009.

“Most of our players didn’t buy into it,” Garrett explained about the current squad. “It wasn’t the coach’s idea; all of us just didn’t want to do it anymore and he was fine with that. We still run the fast pace, though.”

The change wasn’t successful at first.

With a combination of injuries and inexperience, last season was a forgettable one for Marina. This year, Marina is not only in the midst of a winning season, they’re right there in the thick of a chase for the league title. At 6-1 (19-4 overall) they’re a mere game behind 7-0 Los Alamitos–with whom they were headed for a showdown on Tuesday night.

“I think all 15 guys are convinced this year,” Tyler said. “We’re going hard, we all want a league championship, we all want to win CIF and I think it’s very possible this year.”

The brothers’ drive and confidence is a direct reflection of their father, Jesse. His leave-no-room-for-error approach to anything and everything he undertakes has led to a great deal of success in his real estate business dealings, his community and charity events and–as evidenced by his sons–his development of programs for Asian American basketball players in Orange County.

He freely admits that his sons were a test run for his model for a fundaments program for kids, in the Orange County Optimist Club’s youth league.

“They’re a testimony to the effectiveness of small ball and short hoop technology,” Jesse said about his approach, using lower hoops and smaller basketballs to help small children develop ball handling skills–and confidence–early on.

Also, there’s the issue of sheer body size, that in the past was met with a fair amount of resignation. Decades ago, leagues for players of Japanese ancestry–on average much smaller than their non-Asian peers–sprang up to give them opportunities to play. For the girls, there wasn’t as much disparity by the time they reached high school, but for the boys, it was, in effect, a biological exclusion.

Jesse has tackled that differential with a number of innovative–some might say drastic–methods. In addition to having his sons work with nutritionists and trainers such as former American Gladiator Tommy Knox (who also coaches Olympic volleyball gold medalist
Kerry Walsh,) the James three all repeated eighth grade–voluntarily.

Jesse said that a high percentage of top-drawer athletes are 19 when they graduate high school, meaning they were held back a year, allowing their bodies and skills to mature. He added that boys of Japanese heritage tend to have growth spurts later on average, so there was no need to rush his sons along.

“A lot of people might have a problem with that approach, but it makes a lot of sense,” he said. “Some parents hold their kids back in kindergarten. We put our boys in school with the idea that if they ever developed into good ball players, we’d take a look later at holding them back a year.”

The boys were on board with idea. Their grades were excellent and they understood the benefits–extra maturity and physical ability.

“We wanted to prove that smaller Japanese boys, given the proper training, could go out and compete with everybody else,” Jesse said. “Too many guys get discouraged and quit, because they can’t compete, they can’t match up. Here’s proof that 5-foot-9 boys can play–and start–on a team in the top 10 in Orange County.”

He added, “Hopefully, these three guys can be an inspiration for other kids, knowing they can make it, they can play.”

The approach has paid off for Marina, in that the team has years of James-brand leadership ahead of them. The decision to play all three brothers was one Head Coach Roger Holmes seems to be comfortable with, especially while the team is winning.

It also helps that JJ was eased gradually into the program, playing with Marina over the summer, so coaches could have a good look at him.

“I was in Coach Holmes’ ear all during junior year,” Garrett said.

But there are always coaching pressures. As a starter, JJ is occupying a spot that some might say should be reserved for a senior.

“There’s a lot of competition, no doubt,” Garrett conceded, “But if he’s good enough, I think it’s an easy choice for the coach. The best five should play.”

Academically, the brothers are showing no ill effects of the extra year of junior high. With all three maintaining a grade point average of 3.5 or better–as mandated in the James household–the balance between work and play is a healthy one.

Garrett, obviously, will be moving on to college next year. He said he’d like to stay on the west coast, but that he’s open to all options at this point. With signing day coming up in April, his possibilities include San Francisco State, Cal Poly Pomona Vanguard and Washington State. Several eastern Div. III schools are in the mix, as is Div. I Pacific of the Big West Conference.

While Tyler is not as focused on basketball past high school, all three brothers want to follow their father’s lead into the business world.

“College basketball isn’t really my focus, not my first priority,” he explained.

“I want to go to a good school, get a good education, get a good job and make some decent money.”

Meanwhile, the more immediate issue is basketball and a league title. The James brothers are ever mindful of the current season. Asked if there’s ever a time of day that they’re not talking about basketball, a silence fell over the table.

“We don’t talk that much about it at home,” Jesse asserted.

“Dad, as soon as I wake up, you’re saying something about basketball,” Garrett answered.

These days, there’s plenty to talk about.