By Andy Lohman



Those who enter the world of business are often tasked with providing value: offer more product for a lower price, find more efficient production, invest in high-performing stocks.

SMU men's basketball junior guard James Pyle hopes to enter that world. A finance major, Pyle is in the EnCap Investments & LCM Group Alternative Asset Management Center (AAMC) at SMU's Cox School of Business.

"Kind of like an investment banking, private equity, hedge funds prep course," Pyle describes the AAMC program. "A crash course in all of that."

The highly-selective program accepts 50 undergrads per year for a rigorous training in money management. While it offers a great opportunity for students who want to work for an investment bank or a private equity firm, the AAMC adds 20 hours of work outside of the classroom onto juniors' schedules. Add on the schedule of a Division I men's basketball player and you have the life of Pyle.

The Overland Park, Kansas native has a simple strategy for handling such a hectic lifestyle: keeping a positive attitude.

"I love playing basketball and I love what I'm studying and I love the field I'm going into," Pyle said. "I really enjoy those things so it makes it easier to have a positive attitude."

Even with having to juggle school, the AAMC and basketball, Pyle still carves out time for himself. He says that's crucial to his mental stamina.

"Whatever time I have outside of basketball and school, I try to enjoy myself," Pyle said. "I play golf a lot and go out with my friends a lot. It's just balancing and giving yourself a little bit of free time and time to de-stress a little bit. That helps a ton in terms of getting through the times where you're grinding for a couple weeks at a time."

That positive attitude translates to his time with the basketball team as well. Pyle is a walk-on and is aware that his role on the team is not a glamorous one.

"It's not a big secret that walk-ons don't play that much during games," Pyle said.

In two seasons on the Hilltop, Pyle has accumulated a total of nine points across 55 minutes of playing time. But he knows that filling a stat sheet isn't how he contributes to the team. Pyle helps the Mustangs get better every day with all of the things behind the scenes that nobody sees.

"The biggest thing is probably practice," Pyle said. "We've been limited on numbers as it was in terms of scholarships, so as a walk-on it makes my job much more important in terms of getting guys ready to play in practice, bringing energy in practice."

"I think what a lot of people don't realize is a lot of the behind-the-scenes stuff, a lot of the work we put in."

The behind-the-scenes work has caught the attention of Pyle's teammates.

"James is an amazing guy," teammate and fellow finance major Everett Ray said. "People don't know, but James can play. He can really play. He also has a passion for business and does both great. I credit him, he's helped me a lot. I definitely pick his brain."

It's appropriate that Pyle is a finance major. Just as a shrewd investment will add value to a portfolio, the work that Pyle puts in for SMU men's basketball adds value to the team.

"For me, knowing that in practice I'm valued and the value I bring to the program helps translate to wins, whether it's me pushing the other guys or it's me just bringing a good attitude and being a good voice in the locker room, I know that I add value to the program in that way," Pyle said.