The Pac-12 Conference men's basketball tournament kicked off on Wednesday in Las Vegas. The first game of the day was USC against Washington as Bronny James, Boogie Ellis and company tried to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive.
On the other hand, this turned out to be the final Pac-12 game of Mike Hopkins' run at Washington as the Huskies are moving on from him following the season.
Bronny James, the son of Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James, has had plenty of eyes on him this 2023-24 campaign. Unfortunately, Bronny just has not lived up to the hype and could very well return to college for another year to boost his draft stock.
After the USC basketball team defeated Washington on Wednesday, 80-74, let us see how Bronny James played.
Bronny James vs. Washington in the Pac-12 Tournament
Spoiler alert: It was a better performance than what had taken place recently for Bronny. He finished the game with seven points and five rebounds with a steal and a foul. He was just 1-of-2 from the field with five free throws made. This is an improvement from the Arizona State game where he went scoreless and had just one rebound in 16 minutes.
Bronny James made a pair of free throws in the closing seconds to seal the score at 80-74.
Bronny has had just three double-digit scoring outings this season with the last one coming in the middle of January against Arizona. Still, with just seven points against Washington, he had a nice jumper that showed his skills.
USC’s Bronny James with a jumper in the key. #Pac12MBB pic.twitter.com/HvphILPA7l
— Those Four Letters (@krisjohnsonlive) March 13, 2024
Boogie Ellis led the way with 25 points for USC as they had a tough time getting rid of Washington in this game. Bronny also made his mark on defense, something that has become quite normal for the freshman.
Great contest by Bronny James here leads to a runaway Boogie Ellis jam and USC’s up 74-69 on Washington with 36.1 to go. pic.twitter.com/qlhDVLrToF
— Luca Evans (@bylucaevans) March 13, 2024
On the year, the highly touted prospect is averaging just 4.8 PPG with 2.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists in just under 20 minutes per contest. He has started in just six games for the USC basketball team. Over the summer, he suffered a cardiac arrest episode but was able to make a recovery and get back on the court.
But his freshman year at USC has not gone as expected. Coming into this season, he was viewed as a potential first-round pick in the 2024 NBA Draft.
After the past few months, Bronny has even been removed altogether from some mock drafts, which sparked a stern reaction from LeBron. It's definitely worth a discussion on whether or not Bronny should return to school for at least another year.
Nonetheless, Bronny still brings that name value as the son of one of the greatest players in NBA history. Returning to USC for one more year, at least, would pay huge dividends for Bronny.
Regardless, Bronny doesn't have to make that decision yet with the USC basketball team moving on. They will face No. 1 seed Arizona on Thursday, who they just upset in the final regular-season game of the season.
While it wasn't exactly an eye-popping performance for Bronny, he had some good defense and a pair of clutch free throws when it mattered most as USC moves on in the Pac-12 Conference tournament.
If the Trojans want to keep their NCAA Tournament hopes alive, Bronny James and company will need to beat Arizona for the second time in a week, this time in Las Vegas.
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