USC basketball has gone through a really difficult season, and so has freshman phenom Bronny James. James came to the Trojans with all sorts of hype, being the son of NBA star LeBron James. While Bronny is rumored to leave school after the season, it makes perfect sense for the young man to return to USC for his sophomore year. Here are a few reasons why it's good for Bronny to remain a Trojan, instead of packing his bags for the NBA.
INJURY SLOWED HIM DOWN
Bronny went through a horrible medical ordeal before the season even started. The freshman guard suffered an incident involving his heart that kept him away from basketball for an extended period of time. He even had to spend time in the hospital. Bronny missed the Trojans' first eight games, due to the situation.
Due to the time missed, it took Bronny some time to figure out his way through the USC rotation. A college basketball season is usually around 32 games, and the freshman missed about 25 percent of his team's games this season. It would be hard for anyone to come in and gel with his teammates after missing eight games. Bronny has found his way into the lineup, but he just hasn't had enough time to show what he can do yet. His stats back up that argument.
On the season, Bronny is averaging 5.5 points a game, to go with 2.8 rebounds. He's struggling to shoot from the field, making 37 percent of his shots. He hasn't played that many minutes, either. On the year, Bronny has played 30 minutes or more in a game only once. That was back on January 17 in a Trojans loss to Arizona, when he logged exactly 30 minutes for USC.
USC TEAM STRUGGLES
USC basketball hasn't been able to win much, with or without Bronny on the floor. The team is only 11-16 on the season. The Trojans have found some success recently, winning two of their last three games. USC is 5-11 in the Pac-12 Conference, in next-to-last place. Only Oregon State has won fewer conference games than USC basketball in the Pac-12 this year.
Unless this team wins the Pac-12 tournament, USC is not going to the NCAA tournament this season. March Madness is an event that every college basketball player wants to compete in, and it would be a shame for Bronny to miss out on the chance because of the NBA. The league will always be there, but March Madness surely won't be. USC could win their way through the conference tournament, but it's highly unlikely that it will happen this season.
USC is also playing their final year this season in the Pac-12. Next season, the school moves to the Big Ten conference, along with UCLA, Oregon and Washington. If Bronny stays one more year in school, he will get to play an even greater range of truly great college teams, including Michigan State and Ohio State. It would be so much fun to see him play at Michigan, or Illinois, and so many other college arenas.
The choice is ultimately up to Bronny whether to stay in school. There are reasons to leave, if he feels he will be drafted by an NBA team in the first or even second round of the draft. There are those, however, who don't believe Bronny is ready. One former NBA executive has said that Bronny needs more time in college to show he is prepared for the next level, per Yahoo Sports. There are reasons either way-but ultimately, the statistics seem to show he needs some more time as a college athlete.
USC basketball next plays Washington State on Thursday.
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