Making the Case: Bronny James
Last week when the Los Angeles Times reported that Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) point guard Bronny James was down to USC, Oregon and Ohio State, it was, by far, the most information to leak out of the seemingly impenetrable James camp since Bronny took an official visit to Ohio State in September.
Such is the life of the most famous high school basketball player in the country whose dad, LeBron, is just 89 points shy of breaking Kareem Abdul-Jabbar's all-time NBA scoring record.The hype only intensified last week when Bronny was one of 24 players picked to play in the McDonald's All American game on March 29. LeBron only fanned the flame when he said recently that Bronny, who is ranked No. 43 overall in the Rivals 150, "can go to any college he wants to. All I have to do is pick up the phone."
Assuming he doesn't take LeBron up on the offer, we caught up with one prospect from each of the three schools on his alleged list and had them offer their best sales pitch trying to lure the 6-foot-4 combo guard to their respective campus next season.
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2023 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2024 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team
2025 Rankings: Top 80
Transfer Portal: Latest news
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THE CASE FOR OHIO STATE
Scotty Middleton, Sunrise Christian Academy (Bel Air, Kan.), SF, 2023:
“(It's) the culture, the family atmosphere and the trust that the coaches have in you early on. Talking to coach (Chris) Holtmann and coach (Jake) Diebler, they're open about the struggles you have as a freshman and how they let you play through it and make you learn through it. They understand you're gonna make those mistakes, but they're gonna be there for you to teach you and give you room to grow. I know me and Bronny would have chemistry because he's one of those guys that just does whatever's needed for the team to win. That's how all of the guys in our class are, so he'd be a perfect fit."
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THE CASE FOR USC
Silas Demary Jr., Combine Academy (Lincolnton, N.C.), PG, 2023
“We fit his style of play for sure. He likes to get out and run, shoot and lock up. Coach can put him in spots for him to be great and showcase all of his talents. Plus, he’s right there in L.A. with his dad and his family. That’s big to have that support right here with him. I know that our chemistry would be great with me, Bronny and Isaiah (Collier). It’s three point guards, but coach is gonna use a two-point guard system and we’d be able to rotate between us three. It would be a dangerous combo.”
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THE CASE FOR OREGON
Kwame Evans Jr., Montverde (Fla.) Academy, SF, 2023
“Besides the basketball, Eugene is a place where he can just come and prepare for the next level. It doesn’t have all the distractions that some of the other schools have and I think that would help him because of who he is with all of the pressure and stuff. He’ll get everything he could ever need and want from the basketball side of it and with me, Mookie (Cook) and Jackson (Shelstad) we’re gonna be there to help him. I feel like we’d all have great chemistry and we already have that camaraderie. It would be a natural fit, so it makes the most sense.”