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The 2023-2024 college basketball season was exciting because CBB fans had the prospect of watching Bronny James and Mikey Williams begin a battle for supremacy as some of the best prospects.
For different reasons, the pair's debuts have been delayed with their basketball futures looking more than uncertain a few weeks ago.
Mikey Williams, who committed to play for the Memphis Tigers, previously represented the North Coast Blue Chips team. There, he played with Bronny James, who later committed to play for the USC Trojans.
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Mikey Williams and Bronny James 2023 statistical comparison
Mikey Williams began his basketball career at San Ysidro High School, California where he put up stunning numbers before transferring to Vertical Academy and then back to San Ysidro to finish high school.
In his senior year, Williams averaged 23.8 points, 9.2 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game for San Ysidro.
Bronny James played for Sierra Canyon throughout his high school career and during his senior year, he averaged 14.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game before committing to USC.
Why did Bronny James and Mikey Williams' careers almost end?
Bronny James had a highly publicized medical emergency when he collapsed during training at the Trojans' facilities due to a cardiac arrest in July and was later diagnosed with a congenital heart defect.
He was cleared by doctors to continue playing last week and returned to training after his family released a statement about his health status and basketball future.
On the other hand, Mikey Williams was arrested in April due to his shooting at an occupied vehicle that had arrived at his compound in San Diego. He was charged with 6 counts of assault with a firearm.
If convicted, his sentence could have brought him 30 years of prison time.
But he made a plea deal that let him get away with a felony charge of making criminal threats and he will have anger management and gun safety courses and if successfully finished, the charges will be knocked down to a misdemeanor.
After his sentencing, Williams made a statement to reporters outside the courtroom pointing to his excitement at playing for Penny Hardaway's team again.
"I feel good, brother," Williams said. "All glory to God. I'm just happy that I made it out of this situation. But I'm just excited to get back to the court."
