I can totally agree with that. I can't see any scenario where Bronny beats out any of those guys, and daddy would not like that. So i wouldn't even bother to bring him in just to boost ticket sales, that short sighted for a program to think like that!

Fight On

If the projected class comes to fruition, & assuming Boogie moves on, we're looking at a 2023-24 roster on paper of:

1. Collier
2. Demary
3. Dixon-Waters
4. Hornery
5. Iwuchukwu
6. Johnson
7. Morgan
8. Niagu
9. Page
10. Sellers
11. Thomas
12. White
13. Wright

That is a roster full of players that Bronny would be completely redundant with. He certainly wouldnt play ahead of Collier, RDW or Tre. I also cant imagine he would be ahead of Demary & you cant discount the fact that Kobe & Malik would have 2 to 3 years of experience over him. Add in that Sellers should have a defined role as a shooter & where would Bronny even slot in? And that's before we even mention the fact that someone would have to be pushed out to make room for him.

The off-court stuff with Bronny is a wash to me. The potential benefit of being associated with LeBron vs the risk of alienating LeBron if Bronny doesn't play kind of evens out (although I think the risk is greater than the reward). That leaves you with a purely basketball decision and, given the makeup of our roster, the uncertainty of Vince's future and the scholarship crunch, the obvious answer in my opinion is to shut down 2023 recruiting unless something changes with Cody Williams or Isaiah Miranda and save the potential extra scholarship that you may gain from a transfer out for a portal big next summer.

Over rated but I guess dad being at usc wouldn’t be a bad thing I supposed

I don’t see any evidence that USC or Oregon is trying to sign Bronny. Perhaps Memphis is a possible destination.

He's the son of LeBron James so if bloodlines and potential mean anything then Bronny is a good bet to be a solid college basketball player for some lucky program. His recruitment has been very low key and it's hard to know where he's headed. Looks like Ohio State might not have room for him after getting a commitment that could wrap it up for their class. Oregon was the team to beat a few weeks back. They want him. Kijani Wright being at SC helps and they both are in the same boat in my opinion by going from 5Star recruits to eventually fall in the rankings to high 4Star players. He can join Wright and play immediately at SC. Bronny hasn't been the "star recruit" that everyone expected and he may have a chip on his shoulder. I hate to say this but his recruitment reminds me of Cordell Broadus when he wasn't getting the attention from USC. Bronny hasn't been getting that either from a lot of schools even. They might have offered but.....This could push him to USC. Stay home. Also I know Centennial were just on a tear but I don't like the fact that Bronny didn't score a bucket and was shut down in that last game. Similar to Broadus not doing much in big games at Goreman that made teams back off. Bronny gotta bring it this time in the big games. Oregon will continue pushing the Nike involvement, but SC can point to the recent success of NBA talent that might be enough. If Isaiah Collier commits thats gotta make LeBron and Bronny say "We better take another look at SC".

I get why most 'SC fans want him, but it feels very gimmicky to me, especially since, as you pointed out Chase, we could potentially have our best backcourt in years in 2023-24. Andy already did the unorthodox move to boost recruiting when he hired Eric Mobley & it's worked out beautifully. We brought in top 10 classes in '19 & '22 as well as a top 5 player in '20 & could potentially be bringing in another top 5 player this year as part of yet another top 10 class. Our profile has been raised.

I really want to see that Collier/Reese/Tre backcourt next year with Vince protecting the rim & catching lobs. Shoehorning Bronny into that lineup for a Q score boost just seems unnecessary to me, but I know I'm in the minority.

An important part of this is that the media is already starting to go wild over Bronny. For example, a guy named Derek Murray, whose affiliated with a media company called Babcock Hoops was just quoted as saying this about Bronny: "I do believe Bronny is an NBA player due to his size, shot creation, and facilitation skills. I am possibly looking at a mid-first round to early second round projection if I had to make one today."

There is tremendous pressure on people who do basketball media to curry favor with Lebron. I think Bronny is a legit top 60-80 prospect, and if he any other guy I'd say he makes sense as a take over a four-year college career. But Bronny is a one-and-done, and media will by and large treat him that way ... because of Lebron, and because Bronny is a good kid, and because Bronny is a legit high major level player.

If Bronny is utilized as a one-and-done, it's going to blowback on whatever program takes him.

Good point. I would take him if he wants us just because for the popularity boost of LeBron. But this makes me not feel bad if we miss out on him.

This is why I don’t think it makes sense to do it. If SC get Collier, then you’ve got a backcourt of Collier, Reese and Tre. That’s insanely good. Playing Bronny over any of those three is a really bad idea, and would hurt the program immensely over the short term.

Wherever Bronny goes he's playing. Not because he's an all-world talent, but because simply bringing him in is a tacit agreement to feature him. Signing Bronny is a long-term play to garner attention & rebrand as the "it" school. Whatever short-term negative consequences there are from playing him over veteran players (like Reese & Tre in 'SC's case) are implicitly accepted as part of the deal. To think that he could sign Bronny & then treat him like any other freshman would be insanely naive on any college coach's part &, frankly, suicidal.

10mpg as a freshman may even be a stretch, since Andy isn't too bias towards frosh unless his name is "Evan Mobley". I'm sure Andy is more reserved about this recruitment than he could otherwise be; he's never been one for the limelight.

Still, optimism in a variety of outcomes here. Wouldn't like to see him as a bruin unless it means we get 2/3 free wins in 202.

The difference is that when you don’t play Lil Romeo, Master P didn’t go on Twitter and attack the coach.

What happens if Bronny isn’t good enough to get more than 10mpg for his one season at SC. How’s that going to go with Lebron?

Playing devil's advocate, it could be very bad. Depending on LeBron. If LeBron is unhappy, he has media leverage to make USC look very bad or push for certain agendas.

Yes, I guess I wonder is Bronny some sort of "Super Little Romeo" where if we take him, he's a package with one (or more) five stars AND he increases the visibility of the program such that his impact reverberates for a few years. The downside is obviously the potential for him to become a distraction if he struggles or isn't good enough to get minutes. Luckily Andy and Co. get paid the big bucks to figure this out.

As a total aside, I was on a rec league team with Little Romeo for a year right after college. He definitely wasn't a high D1 player (and neither am I), but he could still really play.