Eric Musselman on Bronny James' future at USC: 'We'd love to have him'
Bronny James announced his future plans on Friday with his intentions being to enter the 2024 NBA Draft while also planning to put his name into the transfer portal. However, Eric Musselman is hoping to get a chance to change his mind on a potential return to USC.
Musselman addressed James’ decision at his introductory press conference as the Trojans’ next head coach on Friday. He said that he has already texted James as the program hopes to retain him. That’s only if he so chooses, though, with him having several options in front of him regarding his next steps.
“Well, I mean, I need to try to get a hold of Bronny,” said Musselman. “I’ve texted him.”
“Certainly, he has got a lot of options. We respect those options. We just want him to know that, hey, you know, this opportunity is here if you want to play at USC,” Musselman said. “We’d love to have him. Such a talented young man.”
James, the well-known son of one LeBron James, just finished his first collegiate season in Los Angeles. An episode of cardiac arrest did limit it to a degree as he missed the first eight games of their season while rehabbing from that. Still, he debuted in early December to eventually make 25 appearances on the year, including six starts.
In his outings, James averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.1 assists in just under 20 minutes per game. He also shot 36.6% from the field and 26.8% from distance.
James arrived after playing in high school at Sierra Canyon. He was a four-star prospect there and the No. 25 overall recruit in the 2023 cycle. That was according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He also rated as the No. 6 PG and the No. 6 player out of California. He then enrolled in LA as part of the No. 4 class in the country per On3’s 2023 Team Recruiting Rankings.
However, the Trojans’ program has gone through a full shift since the end of the year. Andy Enfield ended up leaving as head coach to take the same role at SMU. That led to the hiring of Musselman from Arkansas on Thursday. The changes have now led four players to transfer out, with James being a presumed fifth, and two recruits, Trent Perry and Liam Campbell, to decommit. In turn, only one player has transferred in with Josh Cohen, who was committed to Musselman in Fayetteville, flipping to USC.
This has all come about to put James’ options in flux. Many long considered him to be a one-and-done in hopes of joining his father in the NBA. This season did not suggest that he’d necessarily be drafted as a prospect, though, rather than in hopes of adding his dad along with him. That’s where the portal will, or even a return to the Trojans could, come into play.
James has a lot to sort out about his future with what’s in front of him. It’ll all be based on what a return to college or a jump to the association would look like. Even so, Musselman is hoping to at least make his own pitch to him about what a return to their team could look like for next season.
“Again, he has got a lot of opportunities,” said Musselman. “It’s just a matter of us connecting. Hopefully we’ll do that soon.”