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Bronny James' true freshman season saw another loss on Thursday as the USC Trojans (15-18) suffered a 70-49 loss to the Arizona Wildcats in the quarterfinals of the Pac-12 Tournament. The Trojans guard struggled in 22 minutes of action as he finished with just three points, one rebound and one steal while shooting 1-of-5 from the field and 1-of-5 from 3-point range.
In 25 games this season, the son of Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James averaged 4.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.8 steals and 0.2 blocks per game while shooting 37.4% from the field, 27.3% from 3-point range and 67.6% from the free-throw line. Despite his struggles, an anonymous NBA executive believes he should be judged on a curve:
"You miss four months of the offseason and try to rush back, that's really tough to do. So I grade him on a heavy curve, personally.
"I imagine from a basketball perspective, the best thing would have been for him to not play because he missed so much time over the summer to adjust to college basketball, and you get thrown in the middle with this kind of weird team that wasn't functioning anyways.
"I thought it made for what I think ended up being a clunky situation in every direction. To the kid's credit, I think he did his best." [h/t ESPN]
Check out the Western Conference executive's comments below:
Bronny has not yet announced whether he plans to enter the 2024 NBA draft or return to college for another year. The Trojans guard suffered cardiac arrest in the offseason ahead of his college debut and missed the first 10 games of the season as he recovered.
Andy Enfield shares thoughts on Bronny James' freshman season
While Bronny James struggled as a true freshman, USC Trojans coach Andy Enfield discussed the many positives. Speaking at the post-game press conference, he said:
"Bronny's a typical freshman. He went through a lot this year physically and mentally. He's never wavered from being a great teammate and working extremely hard in practice and you can count on him as an individual.
"He's on time. You need him to be somewhere, he's there. You can count on him as a teammate, as a coach, he's there for you."
He continued:
"Lots of positive things to say about who he is as a person, his character and how he buys into the team concept. We love coaching him. He's a typical freshman and he has learned and grown a lot this year and he'll keep improving."
Check out Andy Enfield's comments on Bronny James' freshman season below:
It remains unclear if Bronny James will enter the 2024 NBA draft. While his father has expressed his desire for the two to play together, he has also shared that the decision will ultimately be made by the USC Trojans.
