James Boney is entering his third season on the women's basketball coaching staff at Saint Peter's University in 2020-21, serving as assistant coach.
Boney was part of a coaching staff that helped produce the most wins by the program in nearly a decade (9) this past season on the way to a ninth-place finish in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). The Peacocks would save some of their best performances for the final month of the year, including a season-defining victory against a Rider squad that was among the most dominant not only in the conference, but in all of mid-major basketball, entering their matchup riding a 14-game winning streak and as the MAAC's last unbeaten team. Saint Peter's would post a wire-to-wire win to jumpstart a furious finish to the season that would see them post three more impressive victories, including an overtime thriller against another one of the league's top teams in Fairfield and an unbelievable comeback in the regular season finale against Iona.
Boney and the coaching staff would help the Peacocks finish 2019-20 ranked second in the league in scoring offense (68.8), fourth in shooting percentage (39.0), third in 3-point shooting (31.5) and first in free throw conversion (79.0); the Peacocks also led the MAAC in turnover margin (3.03) and forced opponents to commit more turnovers than any other MAAC team. Individually, Taiah Thornton '21 and Kendrea Williams '21 -- who were playing their first seasons at Saint Peter's after transferring -- were among the top-12 in the conference in scoring and overall shooting. Thornton would earn all-league third team honors and ranked third in steals per game (2.3), while Williams finished as the league's top 3-point shooter (41.3) and ranked second in 3-pointers per game (2.5). In the classroom, eight Peacocks earned MAAC All-Academic honors while the program posted a score of 991 for the NCAA's Academic Progress Rate (APR).
Boney most recently served as the head women's basketball coach at Cumberland County College (CCC) from 2011-17. At the helm of
CCC, he won over 100 career games, including four straight Region XIX playoff appearances and a Region XIX Championship in 2015. During the 2015 season, the Dukes finished with a 25-3 record and ranked No. 4 nationally. That season, Boney was named Region XIX and District E Coach of the Year. He successfully produced eight All-Region 19 selections, twelve all-conference honorees, one All-American, Alicia Cox, in 2012, and three academic All-Americans.
In 2009, Boney landed his first head coaching job for the Jersey Thunder, a semi-pro team of the Eastern Basketball Association. He coached the Thunder to the playoffs in his first year. He spent the preceding two years at Kean University as an assistant coach, with those teams posting a combined 55-8 overall record, winning two conference titles, and earning two elite eight appearances. Boney started his coaching career at Montclair State University in 2001, where he spent four years as an assistant coach to his mentor, Jaime Hoffman.
Originally from Egg Harbor Township, Boney attended Montclair State University where he was a two-sport athlete, playing both basketball and football. He earned his degree in physical education and health in 1999.
