James Southerland

College career

James Southerland played 112 games across four seasons at Syracuse, putting up averages of 7.9 points and 3.3 rebounds per game, with a field goal percentage of .449 and a three-point mark of .370. On November 30, 2012, he tied the program’s single-game record for three-pointers by hitting nine against Arkansas, finishing with a career-high 35 points. That performance earned him Big East Player of the Week honors on December 3, 2012. During his final season, an undisclosed academic issue sidelined him on January 11, 2013; he missed six games before being cleared to return on February 10.

On senior night in the Carrier Dome, he posted his first collegiate double-double—22 points and 10 rebounds—against DePaul. In the 2013 Big East tournament, he set marks for most threes without a miss in a game (6 versus Pittsburgh) and most total threes in a single tournament (20), earning a spot on the All-Tournament team. He also made the East Regional All-Tournament team for the 2013 NCAA tournament.

Professional career

James Southerland went undrafted in 2013 and then suited up for the Philadelphia 76ers during the Orlando Summer League and the Golden State Warriors in Las Vegas. He inked a deal with the Charlotte Bobcats on September 5, 2013, but got cut on December 11 after logging just one game. Eight days later, the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA D-League picked him up, and he earned All-Rookie Second Team honors for the 2013–14 season. On April 11, 2014, he signed with the New Orleans Pelicans to finish out the NBA year.

He played summer ball for the Pelicans in 2014 and then spent the preseason with the Portland Trail Blazers. From October to December 2014, he took his game to France with Limoges CSP. After a stint with the Oklahoma City Thunder in the 2015 Summer League, he headed to Italy to join Vanoli Cremona. On January 15, 2016, he left Cremona, having averaged 5.1 points and 3.6 rebounds across fourteen games.

Two days later, he signed with Mitteldeutscher BC in Germany’s Basketball Bundesliga for the remainder of the season, putting up 13.5 points per game. He returned to Germany for the 2016–17 campaign, playing 11 contests for s.Oliver Würzburg on a two-month deal. In December 2016, he joined the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA G League. Once that season wrapped up, he played six games in Puerto Rico for Indios de Mayagüez.

Following the 2017 Summer League with the Utah Jazz, he came back to Santa Cruz for the 2017–18 season. On February 13, 2018, he was swapped to the South Bay Lakers. For the 2018–19 season, he moved to Japan and played for SeaHorses Mikawa. In December 2019, he returned to Japan to finish the 2019–20 season with Yokohama B-Corsairs.

In January 2022, he joined CAB Madeira in Portugal’s Liga Portuguesa de Basquetebol. Come September 2022, he signed with the NBA G League Ignite for the 2022–23 season. On March 28, 2023, he agreed to terms with the Wellington Saints for the 2023 New Zealand NBL season, but he appeared in just one game before being let go on April 19 because of an injury.

Did You Know?

• Southerland tied Syracuse's single-game record by hitting nine three-pointers against Arkansas on November 30, 2012, scoring a career-high 35 points.
• He played for teams in seven different countries: the United States, France, Italy, Germany, Puerto Rico, Japan, and Portugal.