I Am... James E. Shepard, who is currently the men's basketball coach at the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff. Born on August 7, 1965, I grew up in Jackson, Mississippi, where I attended Murrah High School. I played basketball at Murrah for three years winning numerous awards prior to graduating in 1983.

Afterwards, I went on to attend college at Mississippi Valley State University. While at MVSU, I was selected as Freshmen of the Year, First Team All-SWAC, SWAC Tournament MVP, and Play of the Year in the conference. I started all four years at MVSU, where I still rank top scoring, steaks, assist, minutes and games played. Upon graduating from MVSU in 1988 with a Bachelor's degree and after trying out professionally with the Chicago Bulls, Harlem Globetrotters, and Illinois Express, I was drafted by the Wyoming Wildcatters of the CBA.

I later went back to college at Jackson State University to receive my Master's degree in 1996 while working as a graduate assistant in 1991-1998 under Head Coach Andrew Pennington. In Fall 1998, I accepted a position with MVSU as men's assistant coach under then Head Coach Lafayette Stribling were they had several outstanding recruiting classes as well as teams which competes for SWAC titles consecutive years.

I then crossed the state line to become an assistant coach at UAPB in the fall of 2002 under then Head Coach Van Holt. Holt and staff led the Golden Lions to the finals of the SWAC Tournament in 2005-06. In 2006-07, I crossed another state line to be hired as an assistant coach at Grambling State University under then Head Coach Larry Wright. In 2007-08, I went back to my Alma Mater MVSU as an assistant coach under Head Coach James Green where they went on to win the SWAC Tournament Championship and advanced to the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

In spring 2008, I was named Head Coach of UAPB. Prior to the start of my first season, the Golden Lions were picked 9th in the SWAC's preseason poll, but UAPB end p to finish in 4th place in the SWAC during the 2008-09 season. In the 2009-10 season, it brought about unprecedented success of the men's basketball team. After starting the year 0-11, the Golden Lions finished the season with a remarkable run all the way to the NCAA Tournament. The Golden Lions went 18-5 over their last 23 games. UAPB went on to win the 2010 SWAC Basketball Championship, making it the schools' first title over four decades (1967). In 2010, I was named HSRN National Coach of the Year becoming the first coach at UAPB to be awarded the honor.

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