Report: Bronny James transferring from USC

Per Hall of Fame college basketball writer Dick Weiss, Bronny intends to transfer from USC after just one season, following the departure of Trojans coach Andy Enfield. 

“USC freshman guard Bronny James is entering the transfer portal.” Weiss wrote. “Good for him. Needs to get away from the Hollywood hype. Best of luck to LeBron’s kid.”

There have been no indications where James will play as a sophomore, but some suspect it could either be Ohio State or Duquesne, which is coming off a run to the NCAA tournament. 

The Dukes have plenty of connections to James’ hometown of Akron, Ohio, as new coach Dru Joyce III was a teammate of LeBron James at Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High School. Joyce’s father was the coach of those St. V-St. M teams for their final two years and remains at the school today.

Also, Joyce is replacing Keith Dambrot, LeBron’s first high school coach. LeBron sent the entire Dukes team a pair of his signature Nikes before they began play in the NCAA tourney, then offered support on social media, as well as praise for Dambrot, who’s retiring.

But that’s nothing more than speculation at this point.

Bronny James had a somewhat rocky start to his college career after going into cardiac arrest during a workout before the season. He finished with averages of 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists, shooting 36.6 percent from the field in 25 games played. 

The Trojans ended up being one of college basketball’s biggest disappointments, entering the year as a top-25 team — but then finishing 15-18 and failing to qualify for postseason play.

Enfield left USC for SMU.

“James played high school basketball at Sierra Canyon in Chatsworth, Los Angeles (CA), where he was a four-star prospect,” wrote Kaiden Smith of On3. “He was the No. 25 overall recruit in the 2023 cycle and the No. 6 ranked point guard, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.”