The interview with Norfolk State’s La’Deja James was going as expected, her detailing her national player of the week award, her 36-point explosion against North Carolina Central and other exploits that have made the 5-8 guard from Virginia Beach one-half, along with Chanette Hicks, of the most productive backcourts in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference.

Then we asked how it was she landed at Norfolk State.

“Well, I was in junior college and found out I was pregnant, and then I had the baby….”

Huh?

We’d have appreciated it – and been better prepared – had NSU sports information chief Matt Michalec prepped up with that detail. But as Michalec correctly pointed out, that news was James’ to relay.

Fortunately for us, James wanted to share. So instead of a good story about James, we’re thrilled to offer an even better one about Norfolk’s State’s star mom and her precocious 2-year-old baby baller.

“This is awesome; I  wouldn’t trade it for the world,” said James while Ginarii amuses herself by playing with the bottled water inside coach Larry Vickers’ office.

Already, Ginarii has her own hoop, enjoying that along with playing drums, chocolate M&Ms from Grandma and rolling around with her new 11-week-old puppy, Louie, a teacup Yorkie. Check out the video and you won’t wonder why we used the word precocious.

A former standout at First Colonial High, James starred for two seasons at nationally ranked South Georgia Tech College and was a four-time conference player of the week as a sophomore – particularly noteworthy feats since she spent most of that season carrying Ginarii.

“I played for four months while I was pregnant,” she said.

For most of the schools recruiting her, news of her pregnancy had a chilling effect. The phone didn’t vibrate anymore. But at Norfolk State, the James recruiting trail never went cold.

“Coach Ham (NSU assistant Lou Hamilton) and coach Vickers, they kept calling,” James recalled with a smile. “They were like, ‘Whatcha gonna do? You still want to play?’ ”

So eager were the Spartans for James’ services that they were ready to make room for her THAT season, mere weeks after giving birth on July 12, 2017. Instead, James opted to postpone her return until after the 2017-18 season, allowing her time to bond with Ginarii and re-establish the conditioning required to give NSU its scholarship’s worth.

By the summer of 2018, James figured she was ready. It was then she discovered the difference between being in shape, and being in Division I basketball-playing shape.

“I remember the first day, we did training with the military,” James said. “We had this obstacle course, and there was this part where you had to carry a teammate. My teammate wound up carrying me.”

Eventually, James got up to Spartan speed, to the point where, on Nov. 5, when Vickers read off the starting lineup in the locker room prior to NSU’s season opener against Liberty, James was part of that first five.

A high ankle sprain slowed James’ progress throughout much of the nonconference season. But according to Vickers, the team’s five-day Christmas break provided the perfect re-set. Because James has thrived ever since, holding it down on the defensive end while draining 3s and attacking the rim with equal facility at the other. Heading into Monday’s game at Bethune-Cookman, James and Hicks shared points per game lead in MEAC games at 18.2 ppg apiece.

“Deja’s one of the most complete players I’ve ever coached,” Vickers said.

James credits her support system with allowing her to balance love and basketball. Her mother, Dana Harris, keeps Ginarii during road games and brings her to Echols for home contests.

Her signature effort came on Feb. 3 in Durham, where she lit up North Carolina Central for a career-high 36 points – the second-highest single-game output in NSU’s Division I history. The Spartans rallied from 18 down for an 83-75 victory.

James’ heroics were particularly necessary in that game because usual backcourt partner-in-crime, Hicks, was ill and unavailable. Still, James credits Hicks with help fueling her big night.

“I only had 10 points in the first half,” James said. “At halftime Chanette came to me and said something like, ‘You’re going to have to score 40 if we’re going to win this game!'”

James wasn’t sure she could deliver. That is, until early in the second half, she jacked up a bad-angle 3-point attempt that smooched the glass and fell through.

“After that I was thinking, ‘yeah, this may be my night.’ ”

The psychology major has more on her plate than most players. Facetime helps her through road games and sometimes, she’s relieved when Ginarii will agree to watch “Sesame Street” while the two share a lazy day in bed. Gamaun Boykins, Ginarii’s dad, plays at Division II Central Washington, and sometimes the two get to watch him play online (the 6-3 forward from Youngstown, Ohio, is the Wildcats’ steals leader while averaging 7.7 ppg).

Tiring as motherhood can be, James repeats that she wouldn’t change anything, and that includes on the court. “I’m playing like the La’Deja I remember,” she said. “This is the La’Deja who, in high school, scored 1,000 points, who went to junior college for minor reasons and was out there doing big things. I  feel myself coming back to that La’Deja James.”