The incredibly tantalizing news that LeBron ‘Bronny’ James Jr. was being recruited by the Oregon Ducks was reported last week, and it came on the heels of Oregon landing 5-star SF Mookie Cook, a player who has a connection with the NBA legend.
So for an incredibly famous high schooler who has been incredibly silent on the recruiting front, how much should we read into the report that Dana Altman and the Ducks are after him? Luckily, there are well-connected reporters who dug into the situation to find out what they could. Over at On3, they reached out to sources and people in the industry to find out what is actually going on with the eldest James son, who ranks as the No. 43 player in the 2023 class. Here’s what they had to say about Oregon:
LeBron James signed a lifetime deal with Nike toward the end of 2015. Oregon is Nike’s flagship program. Nike co-founder and chairman Phil Knight attended school in Eugene and remained very close to the program. James and Nike are reportedly business partners in other ventures as well.
Intel: Sources tell On3 that Oregon is actively recruiting James. The two parties have been in contact, and there is an active mutual interest.
Of the four other schools that were mentioned to be recruiting James — Ohio State, Michigan, USC, and UCLA — On3 is reporting that only Ohio State and USC are really recruiting James.