His team-first attitude was drilled into him by his father, James McNally Sr.

"It doesn't matter if you score two points or 20," Senior would say. "All that matters is winning."

His on-court moves? They were taught to him by his sister, Jen. Or maybe stating that they were developed in response to her would be a more accurate way of putting it.

Older by two years and at 5-feet-11, considerably taller at the time, Jen would consistently block the shot of young James, then a third-grader, when the two were playing ball in the environs of their Bridgewater, N.J. home.

"She was 5-11 by the time she was in fifth grade," James McNally Jr., a preseason All-America selection and Franklin & Marshall junior forward, recalled Monday night following the Diplomats' practice at Mayser Center.

"I was only eight years old, and I would go in the house crying that she was blocking my shots. All my dad would say was, 'Keep blocking them.' "

The block parties paid big dividends. McNally learned to drive to the basket both left-handed and right-handed, learned to ball-fake, learned, in fact, a myriad of moves that saw him earn numerous honors in his three years of varsity basketball at Bridgewater-Raritan High:

All-Area Player of the Year. Two-time Somerset County Player of the Year. Two-time Somerset County Tournament MVP. Third-team All-New Jersey State. First-team All-Group.

It also earned him the attention of the Diplomat coaching staff.

"We've had so many good big men through the years," F&M boss Glenn Robinson said, and indeed the names are easily recalled: Charlie Detz, Mike Mehaffey, Steve Juskin, et al.

"But," Robinson added, "none like James. He can drive right, left; he can shoot inside, outside. He's tough to guard."

His 328 points and 17.3 ppg. — both second in the Centennial Conference — indicate as much. So, too, does his field goal percentage (.508), which ranks seventh in the CC.

No one, it seems, is blocking the shot of this 6-6, 235-pounder much these days.

But as Robinson will state, and McNally will second that emotion, there is more to winning basketball than lighting up the scoreboard.

"When you're shutting the other team down," Robinson said, "it's a powerful feeling."

And when you're not?

"I learned very early here that it doesn't matter if you can score," McNally said. "If you're not playing good defense, you're not going to be on the court."

He remembers being pulled from games as a freshman and getting lectured on the sideline for not putting a body on his man. That he learned a lesson or two in the process is proven by the fact that he stands among CC leaders in steals (25 in 19 games) and is third in the conference in defensive rebounding (156).

He's ranked among the conference leaders in so many categories F&M coaches refer to him as the "Stat Man." And, indeed, he's a big reason the Diplomats, a Final Four team last March, are 16-3 and 15th in the nation in Division III heading into Wednesday's matchup with Ursinus in Collegeville. F&M is first in the CC; the Bears second.

There are other reasons for F&M's success as well. Mike Baker, McNally's frontcourt mate, is one. Backcourt stars Anthony Brooks and Georgio Milligan are two more. And then there's Hayk Gyokchyan and Steve Tolliver, among others.

"This team has so much offense that if (opponents) are going to focus on me, then Georgio or Mike or Anthony are going to go off," he said. "I think this team has the potential to be better than we were last year."

Heady stuff. Especially since F&M had to replace a starter in Clay Scovill as well as sixth man Dan Selig, and deal with injuries and inexperience in their revamped lineup. There was also the matter of the bull's-eye that comes with being ranked No. 4 in the Sporting News' preseason poll.

And now? With six games remaining in the regular season, F&M is gearing up for the end of one season and the beginning of another.

"It's going to be a lot of fun," McNally said.

Indeed. It's the time of year when all that matters is winning. A mindset McNally is most familiar with.

egruver@lnpnews.com