Tim James is the head men's basketball coach for VGCC. The Miami native graduated from the University of Miami in 1999, where he became just the second Hurricane to have his number (40) retired and the only Hurricane to record over 1,500 points, 800 rebounds and 200 blocked shots in a career. Playing forward, he helped Coach Leonard Hamilton's squads to four consecutive winning seasons and three consecutive postseason bids, including the school's first NCAA tournament trip since 1960. James was a two-time First Team All-Big East selection, and was named Third Team All-American by both the Associated Press and National Association of Basketball Coaches. He was named Co-Big East Player of the Year in 1998-1999, along with Connecticut's Richard Hamilton. He was inducted into the University of Miami Sports Hall of Fame in 2009. After graduating from UM, James became a first round draft pick (25th overall) of the Miami Heat. He spent three years in the NBA with Miami, the Charlotte Hornets and the Philadelphia 76ers, and then played professionally overseas in Turkey, Japan and Israel. James enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2008 and after basic training was deployed to Iraq on July 27, 2009, where he served for 12 months before returning to the United States in 2010. He was honorably discharged with the rank of Corporal in 2011 and joined VGCC later that year.