It is highly probable that IU basketball will witness an expansion of their Academic All-Big Ten players roster by the year 2024-25.
Dallas James, the new big man, took to his Instagram account to announce his intention to pursue a Masters Degree in Intelligent Systems Engineering at Indiana.
If you’re unfamiliar with the program and its meaning, let me share with you IU’s explanation of it:
“Engineering is all about problem solving. Intelligent systems engineering (ISE) offers the next generation of solutions, powered by computing and artificial intelligence.
In ISE, you’ll create systems that sense and react to their environments. You’ll build computers into devices large and small. And you’ll learn to gather, interpret, and use data for everything from smart devices and robotics to environmental sustainability and medicine.
We see what tomorrow can be, and we shape it every day.”
According to his post, James, who stands at 7-feet tall, disclosed that he did not receive a full athletic scholarship to attend South Carolina State. Instead, he was granted a full academic scholarship from the Emily England Clyburn Honors College at SCSU.
Despite the claim on his IU bio that he attended Inglewood High School in Southern California, he did not actually attend the school during his senior year.
During his senior year of high school, James decided to attend City Honors International Preparatory Academy where basketball was not offered as a program. Instead, he and his peers had to commute to nearby Inglewood to participate in sports. Despite this obstacle, James maintained his academic excellence.
According to James, his academic achievements are attributed to his mother.
According to him, his mother has been instrumental in shaping his academic pursuits since he can remember. He acknowledges that his life would be unrecognizable without her guidance, and he gives credit to her for teaching him how to be a successful student, which ultimately led him to become a Hoosier.
Last week, in a statement, James was described by IU coach Mike Woodson as an “extremely intelligent young man.”
As you delve deeper into the background of Jerome James’ son, it becomes increasingly apparent.
In May, James Jr. successfully graduated from South Carolina State with a degree in electrical engineering, achieving a perfect 4.0 GPA.
According to a profile about him on the S.C. State website, James stated that pursuing basketball and education wasn’t a tough decision for him. He mentioned that although it required a lot of effort, it wasn’t difficult as it was what he aspired to do. James further added that he always strives to give his best and remain focused on his goals, which made choosing basketball and school over anything else a simple choice.
“He said that he never refused to have fun, but his priorities were always school and basketball. He is content with the decision he made.”
As an undergraduate, James expressed his desire to major in computer engineering. However, his school did not offer that program at the time. Fortunately, he now has the opportunity to pursue this field of study at Indiana.
