When head coach Lynn Kennedy took over the PSU women's basketball program four years ago, forward Corey James had already signed a National Letter of Intent to play under the previous coaching staff at Portland State.
 
"I knew who she was. I'd seen her play club ball," said Kennedy.
 
James, who'd been a star player for West Albany High School, originally planned to play college ball at Santa Clara. When the Santa Clara coaching staff was replaced with one of the coaches joining the Viking coaching staff prior to her freshman year, she committed to the Vikings. Then, the PSU coaching staff was let go.
 
"The new coaching staff reached out to me and I decided to stay and play here," said James, one of only two true seniors (Forward Pia Jurhar is the other) on this year's squad. Three others are redshirt seniors, who sat out Kennedy's first year at Portland State.
 
With all new players, the first year could have been brutal for James. The Vikings only won four games.
 
Still, she knew she was joining a team in transition, and a lot of the difficulties were overshadowed by one issue. James got a lot of playing time, unusual for a freshman.
 
"I was happy to be playing a lot and I knew we had redshirts who'd be really good coming in the next year (redshirt seniors Ashley Bolston, Courtney West and Sidney Rielly), James said.
 
And, Kennedy was happy, too.
 
"She was a really good shooter…inside and outside. She could drive to the basket and hit from the outside. The first couple of years, she also had a high free throw percentage," Kennedy said. James led the Big Sky Conference in free throw percentage as a freshman, going 67 for 75 for .893. She also shot .318 from the floor and .305 from three-point range.
 
"The more she played, the more we realized just how smart she was. She really knew the game of basketball. She knew our rotations and she was a student of the game. She knew the opposing shooters and was good on defense. Offensively she was someone we could count on to score. If she was double teamed, she'd still find a way to score…either herself or by passing it off," he said.
 
The first hint that her body might not be up to her athletic ambitions came her sophomore year when she broke her foot early in the season. She sat out a couple of games but worked her way back into a starting role, playing in 25 games with 17 starts and shooting .366 from the floor, .300 from distance.
 
As a junior, she injured her back, but was able to return after physical therapy and medical treatments which continued after she returned. Even though James was playing through pain, she started 30 games and shot .405 from the floor, .400 from distance and .875 at the line.
 
"It was hard being injured, but I had a good attitude and the coaches helped prepare me to come back. They knew I'd play through it if I could." 
 
Following last season, however, she was diagnosed with two herniated discs and nerve damage, effectively ending her basketball career. Her style of play didn't help, she said. "I'm a very physical player and I was always on the ground and getting pushed around."
 
That didn't mean she quit.
 
All her career, James has considered herself a team player. In fact, that is what she's liked most about basketball. "The team atmosphere is what I get the most joy out of. Relying on everyone, the hard work and teamwork of everyone."
 
"Corey was a great student. She was a great student-athlete. Lots of injured players leave the team but she stayed around. She wants to help out," said Kennedy.
 
Knowing she can't play has been difficult, James admitted. "I know I can help in other ways. I even help off in a corner with a little coaching, helping some of the other players adjust to the college level."
 
James has been into various sports since the age of five.
 
Her older sister Jessie James (no, she's not an outlaw, she said laughing) earned a swimming scholarship to LSU. Parents Mark and Kim James also were athletes at the University of Portland (dad, baseball; mom, volleyball). And, her younger brother Trace plays baseball at Marshfield High School on the southern Oregon coast.
 
She liked soccer and basketball. "But, I excelled at basketball, I was just better at it."
 
A growth spurt between the fifth and sixth grades put her at 5-7. "I suddenly realized I was taller than everyone." Her basketball coach noticed, too, but then he would. Mark James was coaching her team and was coaching basketball at Corvallis High School.
 
That and her coordination led to her being accepted as the youngest player ever on her club team. It was at that point that she set a goal of playing Division I basketball in college.
 
Growing another three inches in high school, James was a four-year All-Conference player at West Albany High School and was the league's Most Valuable Player as a sophomore. She was named second-team All-State as a freshman.
 
College coaches began to call. In addition to Santa Clara, James heard from New Mexico and West Point, which was tempting because her mom had been an OB/GYN physician in the Navy.
 
Highlight of her playing time as a Viking was last season's 94-79 win over Ole Miss.
 
"They were very cocky. We were the underdog. We blew them out in the first half and held on against a team that was known to be really good," James recalled.
 
James has also been a good student, making the winter Big Sky All-Academic every year so far. She's carrying a 3.65 cumulative GPA, majoring in Criminology and Crime Statistics and is on track to graduate this spring.
 
Following graduation, she plans to get an advanced certificate in crime statistics, take a break and then work on a master degree in criminology. Her career path is open, but James really enjoyed a class which had her working with juveniles at the Multnomah County Juvenile Detention Center.
 
"I really enjoyed working with them and didn't want to leave when the time came," she said.
 
And, she's a bit nostalgic looking at the end of her undergraduate career.
 
"I've really had fun here, but it's been a roller coaster ride in some ways…adjusting to college, balancing school and basketball…the injuries. But, it's definitely been fun. I'm sad to be leaving, but excited about my future. I'm excited about helping people and PSU has helped me find a career path," James said.