Brian Rothmuller/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Despite some suspect speculation making the rounds Wednesday on the internet, Bronny James is reportedly not currently on Villanova's radar.
Adam Zagoria reported Thursday that multiple sources indicated there has been no contact between Villanova and the son of Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James regarding a potential transfer.
Bronny entered the 2024 NBA draft last month, but he also entered the transfer portal, reserving the right to withdraw from the draft and continue his collegiate career after playing at USC last season.
Should Bronny remain in the draft pool, there is reportedly a distinct possibility that the Lakers could take him and pair him with his father, as Shams Charania, Jovan Buha and Sam Amick of The Athletic reported this week that the Lakers are open to helping LeBron "fulfill his dream" of playing alongside Bronny.
Coming out of Sierra Canyon High School in Los Angeles, Bronny was rated as a 4-star prospect by 247Sports, as well as the No. 28 overall player and No. 6 combo guard in his recruiting class.
Expectations were sky-high for Bronny ahead of his freshman season, but he suffered cardiac arrest while training last summer and had to undergo a procedure on his heart.
That resulted in Bronny missing the first eight games of USC's 2023-24 season, and he was on a minutes restriction for much of the campaign thereafter.
Bronny went on to play in 25 games, averaging 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 19.4 minutes per contest, while shooting 36.6 percent from the field and 26.7 percent from three-point range.
That type of production wouldn't normally get a player drafted, but Bronny's link to LeBron clearly could give him a leg up and an opportunity if the Lakers are serious about pairing the father-son duo.
However, if Bronny wants to continue his college career and improve his draft stock for 2025, he should have no shortage of options at his disposal.
Per 247Sports, James had scholarship offers from Ohio State and Memphis before choosing USC, plus many other major programs showed interest, including Duke, Kansas, Kentucky and North Carolina.
One school that has gained recent momentum as a potential landing spot for Bronny is Duquesne.
The Pittsburgh-based school reached the NCAA tournament last season for the first time since 1977, and it has a new head coach in Dru Joyce III.
Joyce is a longtime friend of LeBron and was his high school teammate at St. Vincent-Saint Mary, so there is some thought that he would be willing and able to get the most out of Bronny.
Following the retirement of two-time national championship-winning head coach Jay Wright, Villanova has missed out on each of the past two NCAA tournaments, but it is still viewed as one of the most consistently great programs in college basketball.
It may have been a good spot for Bronny to develop and contribute toward a return to glory, but Zagoria's report suggests it likely isn't in the cards.
No comments:
Post a Comment