Bronny James finished with 10 points, three assists and two rebounds in 18 minutes as USC basketball recorded its first conference win of the season in an 82-74 win over California on Wednesday.
It was USC's first home win with James in the rotation and the second consecutive game the freshman guard scored double-digit points. He's played six games since returning from a four-month layoff after suffering cardiac arrest last July.
James looks more comfortable on the court with each game he plays and his USC basketball teammates are taking notice.
“He's starting to be more confident as a player,” junior guard Kobe Johnson said. “And he's starting to play his game.
“When he first got back, he was on a [tighter] minutes restriction and he [was] kind of antsy about what to do. But now he's starting to get into his groove and starting to become the player that everybody knows he is.”
James, who continues to be on a minutes restriction, played a career-high 20 minutes and scored 15 points in the Trojans' last game against Oregon State. He followed it with another solid performance off the bench that included a highlight dunk off an alley-oop from projected top-10 pick Isaiah Collier.
Bronny James improving
Six games into his college career, James is already showing improvements from his first few runs in the Trojan lineup. He took no more than five shots from the field in each of his first four games but took 17 combined shots over his last two games, scoring at a 58.8 percent clip.
Though he still has plenty left to develop in his game, the only thing potentially holding him back is his health. USC will keep James on a minutes restriction that could fluctuate “week-to-week” according to head coach Andy Enfield.
USC basketball had high expectations this season but struggled out of the gate. The Trojans improved to 7-7 on the season and 2-4 in games Bronny James played with Wednesday's win. As James continues to improve, so too should the Trojans.
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