An Ottawa native and uOttawa basketball alumnus, James Derouin has been the head coach and program manager of the Gee-Gees since June of 2010 and is now the winningest coach in Gee-Gees men's basketball history. He holds a career regular season record of 209-62 (.771) and became the fastest coach in uOttawa history to reach 50 regular season wins. Ottawa’s playoff record under Derouin is 30-21 (.588) following the 2024 season.

Derouin was named the CIS Coach of the Year for 2014-15 after leading the Gee-Gees to a regular season record of 18-1 and a first ever program ranking as no. 1 in the CIS Top Ten. Derouin oversaw the full interuniversity careers of Johnny Berhanemeskel and Mike L'Africain; both were named the CIS Player of the Year in their fifth year in garnet and grey. Derouin also coached Caleb Agada to back-to-back national Defensive Player of the Year accolades.

The Gee-Gees appeared in the Final 8 for four seasons in a row (2013-2016), and made the team's seventh appearance under Derouin in 2024. Derouin is the first Gee-Gees head coach to bring the team to consecutive national championship tournaments since Bob O'Billovich in 1974-75, and the only coach in team history to be at four or more tournaments.

The Gee-Gees now have been ranked in the U SPORTS Top Ten for 140 consecutive polls, dating back to 2012. In 2023-24, they were ranked no. 1 for nine weeks and overall have been ranked no. 1 for twenty weeks under Derouin. Ottawa captured the OUA Wilson Cup Championship in 2023 and 2014 and has five U SPORTS medals under Derouin: two silver (2014, 2015), and three bronze (2013, 2023, 2024). The Gee-Gees have reached the OUA Final Four eight times and have recorded at least twenty wins against U SPORTS competition in all thirteen of Derouin's seasons. Ottawa led U SPORTS in offensive production in both 2013-14 and 2014-15, averaging over 90 points per game in both campaigns.

Derouin joined the staff of the Ottawa BlackJacks for the 2021 CEBL season, serving as Director of Basketball Strategy and Analytics. He was named interim head coach of the BlackJacks on June 3, 2022 and earned a victory in his debut, June 5. For the 2024 season he is the General Manager and Head Coach of the Blackjacks.

In 2015, he joined the coaching staff of Canada's Cadet National team as an assistant, winning silver at the FIBA Americas tournament. Derouin helped guide Canada to a 6-1 record and a fifth place finish at the 2016 U17 FIBA World Championships.

As a player, Derouin won a CCAA national championship with Langara College in British Columbia before transferring to uOttawa. He was captain of the Gee-Gees men’s basketball team for both the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons, and then spent six years on the garnet and grey sideline as an assistant coach. While he was an assistant with uOttawa, the team twice reached the national championship tournament (2005, 2007), and built a reputation as one of the top basketball programs in the country. Derouin then spent two seasons as an assistant coach at UBC, returning to the CIS Final 8 both seasons. He earned his bachelor of arts with a concentration in history from uOttawa in 2004.

Overall against U SPORTS competition, including exhibition and playoff games, Derouin's record is 338-101 (.770) as of the end of the 2023-24 season.