After starting in their last three games, Bronny James went back to the bench as USC basketball took on rivals UCLA on Saturday. In his limited playing time, however, the son of Los Angeles Lakers legend LeBron James was unable to make much of an impact as the Bruins blew out the Trojans by 15 points.
Bronny played in just 15 minutes and finished with only two points and four rebounds. He went 0-for-3 from the field, which is quite a disappointing showing after it looked like he's finally finding his stride with USC basketball.
Entering the showdown, the eldest of the James brood was averaging 5.9 points, 2.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists on 38.1 percent shooting from the field. In his previous two games in which he started–which came after back-to-back 0-point outings–Bronny averaged 9.0 points 4.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists. Against UCLA in a rivalry showdown, many thought that the youngster would be able to make a significant impact to keep the game close. Unfortunately, that was not the case, with the Bruins taking command with a 37-26 first half and never looking back.
James did have some highlight, as he pulled off a nasty block on UCLA guard Dylan Andrews early in the contest. He was even so hyped that he got a tech for shouting a NSFW message after his rejection.
Overall, though, it was a forgettable night from Bronny James. Of course it's unfair to judge him given the brief playing time he had, though it's definitely a wasted opportunity for him to make his mark and showcase all the tools that make him an elite prospect.
Bronny James, USC Basketball struggle mightily vs. UCLA
Bronny James' shooting struggles shouldn't be taken against him, though. There might be an increased focus on him given that he's the son of LeBron James. In this case, however, UCLA simply had a better team and performance overall.
It's not only Bronny who struggled against a stingy Bruins defense, with the rest of the team shooting just 35.4 percent from the field (17-of-48 shooting). Compared to the Bruins who were so aggressive on offense, the Trojans were unable to get anything going on offense.
Boogie Ellis' return from a three-game absence due to a hamstring injury was expected to give the team a boost, but the star guard was clearly still rusty after he was held to eight points in the showdown–all of which he scored in the first half. Only one member of USC basketball reached double-digits in scoring, with Oziyah Sellers reaching the bare minimum of a double-digit with 10 points.
USC's starters combined for just 30 points in the game, a massive difference to that of UCLA who saw its starters alone outscore the whole Trojans with 51 points. Dylan Andrews led the way for the Bruins with 20 points.
Hopefully, Bronny will be able to get more playing time with the Trojans moving forward. During the three games he started, he averaged 27 minutes. That number falls to 16.5 minutes per outing in matches that he came off the bench.
Sure enough, James probably needs more time to get comfortable with the Trojans considering that he only suited up in December after a major health scare. It's not easy to get back to playing at a high level following such issue. And the fact that Bronny is a rookie who had yet to develop chemistry with his teammates make it only trickier for him.
Next up for USC basketball is Oregon next Thursday. Perhaps Andy Enfield will give Bronny more playing opportunities then.
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