Lincoln Riley sits two rows in front of Bronny James at Lakers-Grizzlies Game 4

Riley is recruiting football players, not hoopers, but #USC’s ‘home-court advantage’ in the Bronny recruitment is undeniable.

These are exciting times for the University of Southern California and its fan base. Football, men’s basketball, and women’s basketball are all improving and heading in the right direction. Star recruits and transfer portal additions are flowing into the revenue-sport programs at Heritage Hall.

“USC recruited the top-ranked prospects in men’s and women’s basketball, landing Isaiah Collier and JuJu Watkins. It retained Boogie Ellis for one more season. It just landed the top-ranked (spring) transfer portal prospect, Bear Alexander. We’re waiting to see if the Trojans can close the door and land Bronny James, who — though not the No. 1 prospect on the board — would carry value beyond recruiting rankings. Bronny choosing USC would make Trojan basketball much more of a destination program for other recruits,” we wrote on Monday.

With all the excitement surrounding USC athletics, it is impossible to ignore the point that the Trojans have something of a “home-court advantage” in the recruitment of Bronny James. That was apparent Monday night at Game 4 of the NBA first-round playoff series between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Memphis Grizzlies.

Lincoln Riley isn’t recruiting Bronny James — Andy Enfield is — but there was Riley sitting just two rows in front of Bronny James and other members of the James family. USC football staffer Gavin Morris was also in that section near the James family.

Riley tweeted from Game 4, too:

We’re not implying Bronny to USC is a done deal, but we can say that if you’re trying to read the tea leaves, the Trojans certainly seem to be in a good position at the moment.

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