‘Fight for what’s yours’: Shocker basketball can find lessons in James Rojas’ toughness

How much pain would you endure to play the game that you love?

For Wichita State senior James Rojas, his love for basketball has created as much pain tolerance as needed.

In the last four years, Rojas tore the ACL in his right knee, tore the ACL in his left knee a year later, sprained his wrist and turned his ankles more times than he can remember.

Here’s what Rojas has to do just to be able to practice as a sixth-year senior: specialized weight training designed by strength and conditioning coach Ryan Horn, multiple trips in a day to see trainer Todd Fagan to ice his entire lower body, plus arriving an hour ahead of every practice in order to do the stretching and warm-up exercises his body needs just to be able to practice.

If it hurts his body and requires such a time commitment, why does Rojas continue to play basketball through the pain?

“I just love the game so much,” Rojas said. “If my legs work and I can walk and my arms work and I can shoot and pass, then I’m going to be on the court.”

Even though Rojas has fallen to the ground in pain numerous times this season, he has yet to miss a game due to injury. He takes a great deal of pride in that.

That toughness is the Jamestown in him. Where Rojas comes from, a 90-minute drive south of Buffalo in Western New York, toughness determines the pecking order — not only on the basketball court, but also in life.

“Coming out of my town, you’ve got to fight for what’s yours,” Rojas said. “I learned that at an early age. Nobody really makes it out of my town, so you’ve got to always fight for everything.”

Rojas wasn’t always the 6-foot-6 rugged forward that Wichita State fans know. Before the injuries, he was an explosive athlete, an NJCAA All-American for Steve Eck at nearby Hutchinson Community College. There was a reason why Nate Oats believed Rojas was talented enough to bring him to the SEC when he accepted the Alabama job.

The injuries prevented Rojas from ever showcasing his peak abilities. He had a fine career at Alabama, serving as a backup big on an NCAA Tournament team, but his impact (3.8 points and 2.5 rebounds) was limited.

“Coming off the first ACL surgery, I was so hungry to get back on the court,” Rojas said. “And then going through that whole process again, at some point you’ve just got to look at the positives. I just tried to focus on getting back on the court. I worked every single day, hours and hours, just to get back. It built up my mind and my mental strength.”

Rojas has been rewarded for his endurance, as he has experienced something of a revival at WSU.

His knees are feeling the best they’ve felt since the injuries and a sliver of quickness has returned to his game. He’s become a fixture in Isaac Brown’s starting lineup and he’s posting the best stats (7.9 points, 5.4 rebounds) of his NCAA career.

After Rojas scored a career-high 19 points in WSU’s loss to Memphis on Thursday, a game that featured yet another Rojas ankle tweak, Brown marveled at his starting power forward’s resilience.

“Sometimes he goes down to the floor and I’m thinking he’s done for the game, but he just shakes it off,” Brown said. “He’s a tough kid and he’s a guy I want all of our young guys to learn from.”

WSU senior point guard Craig Porter is well aware of the frustrations of trying to play through injury during his time with the Shockers. He’s played through pain before and he’s also been sidelined several times due to injury, giving him perspective for what Rojas is doing this season at WSU.

“I’ve got more respect for James than he probably he knows,” Porter said. “I know his body is pretty banged up and he’s giving his everything and leaving it all out there. That’s somebody everyone on this team needs to look up to. Watching him fight this year has been remarkable.”

Rojas isn’t the tallest or biggest. He’s not the most agile. And he’s certainly not the most graceful player, but no one can question his heart or determination. Almost through sheer will, Rojas has become a key cog for the Shockers (9-9, 2-4 AAC) entering their next American Athletic Conference game, a 2 p.m. Sunday contest on the road at SMU (7-12, 2-4 AAC).

Rojas’ renewed pop in his off-the-dribble game has provided mixed results for WSU. While he can almost always beat his defender with a crossover or a spin move, Rojas lacks the explosion from his previous days to finish at the rim. He’s making just 53.8% of his shots at the rim, a low number for a big man, and while his passing can be creative, the juice (15 assists) probably hasn’t been worth the squeeze (38 turnovers). His three-point shot (18.5%) has also been streaky.

But Rojas’ unorthodox movements can sometimes make him even more effective in the paint. He’s particularly adept at drawing fouls, as his 76.9% foul rate (30 free throws, 39 shots) in conference play would rank No. 12 nationally this season. His style helps rack up the foul count on the opposition, which can help put WSU in the bonus earlier in the half and potentially lead to more scoring opportunities for his teammates.

And not only is Rojas a foul magnet, he’s the best kind of foul magnet: an efficient one. He’s making a tidy 78.3% of his free throws on the season, including an 8-for-10 performance from the foul line to bolster his career-best scoring game against Memphis.

Despite lacking size (at 6-6) and explosion, Rojas leads WSU in defensive rebounding rate at 19.2%. In conference play, he’s grabbing a team-high 6.7 rebounds — those inside the program say it’s a testament to Rojas’ toughness, as its unanimously agreed that Rojas is the toughest Shocker.

“He’s a tough matchup for teams to defend,” Brown said. “He can stretch the floor and if you come out and guard him, then he can drive it either way to the basket. I watched him on film draw all of those fouls and now he’s doing the same thing for us.”

Rojas used to go into every game thinking he could score 30 points and grab 10 rebounds.

The injuries changed his perspective. He’s no longer motivated by the same things. The one thing that hasn’t changed? He just wants to help his team win.

“Now I love to impose my will out there,” Rojas said with a laugh. “I just try to make positive things happen for my team when I’m out on the floor. But honestly, just being out there on the floor after all of my injuries is a blessing itself. So that’s why I’m going to play as hard as I can every second that I’m out there.”

Wichita State at SMU basketball preview

Records: WSU 9-9, 2-4 AAC; SMU 7-12, 2-4 AAC

When: 2 p.m. Sunday

Where: Moody Coliseum (7,000), Dallas

Streaming: ESPN+

Radio: KEYN, 103.7-FM

KenPom says: SMU 66, WSU 65

Series: WSU leads 9-6 (SMU leads 4-3 in Dallas)

Projected starting lineups

Wichita State Shockers

Coach: Isaac Brown, third season, 40-28

SMU Mustangs

Coach: Rob Lanier, first season, 7-12