Siakam grew with evolving role, graduated as an inspiration

May 11, 2015

By Jerome Boettcher | Subscribe to Commodore Nation

Arriving at Vanderbilt five years ago as a self-proclaimed raw basketball player, James Siakam never imagined he’d be a senior leader.

But he didn’t take that role lightly. He wanted to do what was best for the team. He carried that torch, even amidst a season of “roller coaster of emotions.”

Before the season began, his father, Tchamo, died in a car accident in Cameroon. Siakam returned home for the first time in eight years to attend his father’s funeral, missing the first game of the season. Returning with a heavy heart, he thrust himself into basketball as a diversion. A couple months later, his maternal grandfather died.

But while Siakam was hurting, he didn’t show it. He wanted to be a team player, even if that meant making personal sacrifices.

“We came out of a seven-game losing streak and adding that to the mix was really devastating so I kind of kept it on the low. Few people knew about it,” he said. “I wanted to keep it on the low because the team didn’t need any more drama at the time.”

So Siakam, in the ultimate act of selflessness, buried himself in his work and helped guide the young Commodores out of the skid. Vanderbilt won 10 of its last 14, collected a total of 21 wins and reached the NIT quarterfinals.

“It was tough. Losing your loved one is always something you can’t just get past,” he said of his father’s death. “These guys are incredible. When I lost my dad, they were there for me — every single second of the way. Even when I was home (in Cameroon), they would still check on me and make sure everything is fine. I’ve never experienced that before. In tough times you have to step up and rise above all the odds and help your team. And do what is good for the team even though I could have took time off for myself. But I think at that point in the season you have to play for something greater than yourself. And that’s the team, family. That’s what it is really all about.”

Siakam’s selflessness didn’t go unnoticed by the Vanderbilt community and his student-athlete peers either. At last month’s annual Black & Gold Banquet he received the first ever Perry Wallace Courage Award. The honor goes to the Commodore student-athlete who best represented the traits of Wallace, who was the first African-American basketball player in the Southeastern Conference. Siakam was also named Mr. Commodore, which is voted by the entire student-athlete population and goes to the Commoore who best represents his sport.

Siakam graduated last Friday with his degree in Human and Organizational Development and plans to pursue professional basketball overseas.

His basketball family, Siakam says, has helped him reach this point in his career. He’ll be remembered as one of the most improved players to play for the Commodores. And he says he wouldn’t have without the support of coaches and teammates alike.

“Honestly speaking it has been an adventure,” he says, flashing his trademark smile. “It has been a tough adventure. Coming in as a freshman, I really had no basketball IQ whatsoever and I was pretty much raw. I had to work my way up to where I am right now. But I enjoyed every second of it, especially seeing the gap, realizing how bad I was at the beginning and where I am right now. I think it has been an incredible, incredible improvement so I’m proud of it.”

Siakam followed the blueprint of his older brothers, Boris and Christian, who left Cameroon to attend high school in the United States in hopes of earning a scholarship to play college basketball. It worked for both as Boris played at Western Kentucky and Christian at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). His younger brother, Pascal, just finished his redshirt freshman season at New Mexico State.

In 2007, when he was only 15, James left Cameroon to attend boarding school outside of Atlanta. After one year, and helping his team win the National Association of Christian Athletes national championship, he transferred to Brehm Preparatory School in Carbondale, Ill. It was there, and on the AAU circuit, where he began to catch eyes of college recruiters, like Vanderbilt. He signed with the Commodores in spring 2010 and arrived on campus a few months later.

Luckily for Siakam he wasn’t alone in the category of extremely gifted athletically but scarce on basketball knowledge. His teammate, Festus Ezeli from Nigeria, had just gone through a similar experience his first two years at Vanderbilt.

“I was not discouraged at all,” he said. “I had a great group of teammates around me like Festus Ezeli. He was actually relating his story to me. Like he told me, in his words, he was terrible and worth nothing. To see where he is right now (in his third year with the Golden State Warriors) he has definitely been an inspiration and knowing that if those guys did it, I can possibly do it. For me, it has been trying harder every single time.”

At the same time Siakam was beginning his first college season, Dan Cage was starting his first on the coaching staff. The former VU standout returned to his alma mater as the assistant director of operations. He has been with Siakam all five years, now in his third season as director of operations.

“He has been a tremendous help for me through my whole career,” Siakam said. “He has been with me since day one — just sending me film or plays because I couldn’t remember a play to save my life. He worked with me the whole time. Studying the game a lot — that is really what has been the difference.”

The extra work has paid off.

Siakam played just 22 minutes as a redshirt freshman. Three years later, he averaged 9.2 points and nearly six rebounds in his final season. Over the last two years, he made 48 starts, blocked 83 shots, grabbed 365 rebounds, and grabbed 534 points. Perhaps more importantly, he provided the emotional boost his team needed — a big play or a loud gesture of support.

No wonder then that before his last regular season home game at Memorial Gym during the pregame Senior Day festivities, when his mom and brothers weren’t there, the entire team locked arms and walked him onto the floor.

“It was incredible,” Siakam said with a wide grin. “Besides my immediate family, these guys are all I have so it made perfect sense for me to have them all. It was one of the best moments in my life.”