It’s showtime at Galen

Even though USC may be historically considered a “football school,” the men’s basketball team has already made its fair share of headlines going into the 2023-24 season.

LeBron James Jr., better known as Bronny James, announced his commitment to USC in an Instagram post in early May. 

The son of LeBron James has been playing under a microscope his entire basketball career. He will now be playing on a national stage at USC.  

As it stands, Bronny is the No. 22 ranked player in his class and a five-star recruit, according to 247Sports’ composite rankings of the 2023 class. He was named a McDonald’s All-American after averaging 14.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists and 1.8 steals per game as a senior at Sierra Canyon High School. 

He’s a phenomenal passer who is always willing to make a good shot into a great one. Unlike his father at 18, Bronny is a great shooter. He excels at moving without the ball and has an advanced acumen for sliding into open space to create high-quality three-point shots. He’s not a ball-dominant guard at this point in his career, but he occasionally plays off the pick-and-roll and looks comfortable finding his shot off screens.

But Bronny stands out because of his defense. He has quick feet to go along and stay in front of opposing guards, walling off driving lanes and preventing offenses from getting into their sets. Off-ball, his basketball IQ is apparent. Yet, questions remain about his consistency. In some games, he looks like the best player on the floor, while in others, he disappears on the offensive end. He sometimes makes one more pass than he should and needs to be more aggressive in finding his shot. However, Bronny improved this year at initiating the offense and displaying what scouts like to call an “alpha” mentality. 

But that’s the beauty of next year’s Trojans and why USC may have been the perfect fit for Bronny. He will have two phenomenal guards next to him on the court, which will take the pressure of being the main option off of his shoulders. 

Guard Boogie Ellis, USC’s first-team Pac-12 captain and lead scorer is returning next year, and he will likely be the main focal point on offense. The nation’s top-ranked recruit and fellow McDonald’s All-American, Isaiah Collier, will also be an ideal teammate for Bronny. Collier’s best attribute is his passing, and Bronny can be an outlet for Collier on the perimeter.

And as it stands, USC will go into next season with four top-100 recruits. It’s the first time in Head Coach Andy Enfield’s tenure that the Trojans have had such a high-profile class. For perspective, in Enfield’s first year as head coach in 2013, USC did not pick up a single commitment from a top-100 ranked recruit. 

USC also secured commitments from Collier’s high school teammate, Arrinten Page, and four-star forward Brandon Gardner. Page, a 6 feet 9 inches big man, is a constant lob threat out of the pick-and-roll who already has phenomenal chemistry with Collier. Gardner, on the other hand, is an ultra-physical post player who has the athleticism to match his tenacity. DJ Rodman, the son of Hall of Famer Dennis Rodman, announced his decision to transfer to USC from Washington State. Rodman, a versatile 6 feet 6 inches forward, averaged 9.6 points and 5.8 rebounds a game. 

All three players should provide much-needed depth at the position for the Trojans, who need it after the departures of Reese Dixon-Waters, Tre White and Drew Peterson. 

USC also has three starters returning on what was already a NCAA tournament team. The newcomers will add to a core of Ellis, first-team Pac-12 defensive player Kobe Johnson and former five-star recruit Vince Iwuchukwu. 

ESPN, CBS, Fox Sports and The Athletic all have USC as the Pac-12 favorite. The past few years have seen the Trojans as a top-three team in the Pac-12, but they were always on the outside looking in on Arizona and UCLA. USC is firmly in contention for a Pac-12 title, which it hasn’t won since 2009. While some of that buzz is attributed to the news of Bronny’s commitment, he is just one piece of the puzzle Enfield has been putting in place all spring. 

Galen Center will likely be filled, celebrities may adorn the courtside seats as they did at Sierra Canyon, and it will be almost impossible to not see a post or even television segment about “Bronny’s first basket in college.” 

However, it is up to USC, as a team, to ensure that all of this buzz is warranted. Enfield and his team will now have something that Bronny has lived with his whole life: great expectations.