Bronny James and the USC Trojans secured their second consecutive win in conference play, as they took down Pac-12 rivals Stanford Cardinal at home on Saturday, 93-79. Win or lose, USC basketball is going to attract a ton of attention because of Bronny James. That was especially the case in this battle against the Cardinal, with Los Angeles Lakers superstar and future Hall of Famer LeBron James in attendance to see his son play.
Not a spectacular night for Bronny James
Those who expected the younger James to put on a show with his father watching were left wanting for more, as Bronny did not have a productive outing. For the first time in three games, Bronny James failed to score in double-digits. It was the lowest-scoring output for Bronny James in his college career thus far and the first time that he did not have a field goal. He had 15 points in the loss at the hands of the Oregon State Beavers and 10 more in the game that followed that against the California Golden Bears.
He came off the bench and finished with just two points, missing all four of his attempts from the field. However, he was able to make some positive impact on the other side of the floor, having tallied two steals. He also showed his acumen on that end of the court when he took a charge in the first half.
Tough offensive first half for Bronny James. 0-4 from the field, including 0-3 from three-point change. Did draw a charge and pick up a steal. USC leads Stanford 39-35 at halftime.
— Chris Mannix (@SIChrisMannix) January 6, 2024
Further underscoring Bronny James' disappointing performance against Stanford is the fact that he only registered a box plus-minus of minus-13.3 — easily the worst of his tenure with the Trojans. He had an offensive rating of 48.8, though, he also posted a career-low usage rate of 14.1 percent.
Bronny James could have been more aggressive
Perhaps, Bronny James should have been more aggressive in finding his shots by going hard to the basket for higher percentage shots than settling for outside attempts to establish a rhythm early. Bronny took all but one of his shots from behind the arc, so it was not surprising to learn that he did not make even a single trip to the free-throw line. After scoring a total of 25 points in the previous two contests and going 3-for-3 from the foul line, Bronny James was left without an opportunity to add points via the charity stripe.
Bronny James has started 0-3 v. Stanford. Passed up and drove on three more catch-and-shoot opportunities. Needs to be a little more selfish/aggressive offensively to give USC more halfcourt threats when he’s on the floor pic.twitter.com/1HU6nrFDmP
— Luca Evans (@bylucaevans) January 6, 2024
All that being said, Bronny James is still growing as a basketball player. There will be ups and downs for LeBron James' eldest son, and the Stanford game was definitely part of Bronny's learning curve. One bad game should not define Bronny's potential and be used as a sole example to predict his basketball career's trajectory.
What USC basketball coach and his teammates said of Bronny James?
Even though it was not the best of nights for Bronny, USC head coach Andy Enfield and teammate Boogie Ellis praised him for providing energy for the Trojans, particularly on the defensive end.
“It’s great to have somebody that sparks us coming off the bench and giving us great minutes and energy and impact on the game even when he’s not scoring,” Ellis said after the game (h/t ESPN).
“That was a great play,” Enfield said of James' defensive play. “The guy was coming full speed, so he just stepped in and put his chest in there and I thought that was very smart.”
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