Bronny James warms up with USC Trojans. How close is he to returning to the court?
Though he’s still not ready to take the court once more, it’s clear that USC’s famous and budding star has taken significant steps on his road to recovery.
The memories of his terrifying moment on the court are still fresh, but the good news is that like father like son, Bronny James has shown a resilience in his journey to regain fitness and form following the cardiac arrest that he suffered this past summer.
Bronny James warmed up with USC
There was a very encouraging development on Sunday as USC’s Bronny James took to the court to warm up with his Trojans teammates. It was the first time that James was back on the floor since suffering a cardiac arrest back in July. Bronny, the son of Los Angeles Lakers icon and NBA all-time scoring leader LeBron James, was with the team ahead of what turned out to be an 81-70 win against Brown on Sunday at the Galen Center. It goes without saying that this was a huge boost for both Bronny and his school which is currently ranked 16th in the nation.
“It was great. He went through warmups with the team. He’s a big part of our program and our team. He’s a terrific teammate,” USC head coach Andy Enfield said. “We look forward to hopefully one day getting him back on the court but when that day is, that’s not my decision. We’re going to be patient and go through the process.”
What happened to Bronny James?
It was during a summer training session with the Trojans in late July when James suffered a cardiac arrest while on court. He was rushed to hospital and placed in the ICU at the time and would go on to spend three days there before being released. The 19-year-old freshman would later undergo surgery and understandably, has been recovering since that time. Interestingly, just earlier this month LeBron himself indicated that Bronny was scheduled for a checkup at the end of this month, and further to that would be allowed to begin practicing with the Trojans if given the all-clear. To be clear, there has been no official word on the details of that situation.
A Closer Look at Bronny James
Seen as a four-star recruit coming out of high school, Bronny received a number of offers from various programs including Oregon, Ohio State, and Memphis. Ultimately his choice was USC and now it’s simply a matter of when he will finally be able to make his debut. It’s worth noting that James has in fact been working out with the Trojans privately, however, Sunday marked the first time that he was with the team ahead of an actual game. As things stand, he will be joining a team that appears to be finding its footing at the moment following a solid but tight win against Brown. On the night, fellow freshman Isaiah Collier contributed 24 points, while Boogie Ellis added 28,and Kobe Johnson a further 14. This is all to say that as promising as James looks, he’s going to have to work for his spot once he returns. Up next for the Trojans? A game against Seton Hall at Rady’s Children’s Invitational tournament in San Diego on Thanksgiving.