The doctors have given Bronny James the all-clear to return to basketball, and the freshman from Southern California is set to make his collegiate debut soon—just four months after having a cardiac аttаck.
In a statement released on Thursday, a representative for the James family confirmed that the 19-year-old will be returning to practice next week after completing a final evaluation with USC officials this week. “Soon after,” it stated, he will be eligible to participate in games.
Coach Andy Enfield expressed uncertainty about the future following USC’s victory over Eastern Washingtоn on Wednesday night. “That’s not a call I made.”
James sat on the bench with the rest of his teammates until the 106-78 thrashing was well underway; he did not take part in pregame warmups. During timeouts, he stood at the back of the huddle and smiled and joked with the other reserves.
Next Saturday in Sin City, the Trojans (5-2) will face off against Gonzaga, ranked eleventh in the nation. The Los Angeles Lakers have a day off on December 10, thus LeBron James may be able to attend his namesake son’s debut if the team plays Long Beach State at home on that same date. Following that, the Trojans will play their next four games away from home.
The Trojans’ two-point setback to Oklahoma last week caused them to drop out of this week’s AP Top 25 rankings.
Enfield lamented the team’s lack of preparedness because to the injuries that sidelined Boogie Ellis and Kobe Johnson for the initial two to three weeks of the season. “Thanks to Bronny’s absence, we are severely understaffed in terms of security.”
James is going to be a great asset to USC’s rotation, but he needs some time to adjust to playing in games. Twice in the past two weeks, he has participated in pregame warmups, during which he has watched his teammates and done some rebounding and shooting. Plus, he’s been to practices.
Teammate Vincent Iwuchukwu is the perfect role model for James. In July of 2022, the 7-foot-1-inch sophomore had a heart аttаck. Last December, he started light practice and debuted in January. Last year, he saw action in 14 games and recorded 5.4 points and 2.5 rebounds per game on average.
On Wednesday night, Iwuchukwu stood out as the standout bench player, contributing 13 points, 6 boards, and 2 blocks.
A curable congenital heart abnormality was discovered in James. While exercising at Galen Center in July, he had a heart аttаck.
Following in his father’s footsteps, James became a McDonald’s All-American. The 6-foot-3-inch guard stayed close to home by committing to USC. He attended Sierra Canyon School in Chatsworth, Los Angeles.