Tag: LeBron James Jr.

Report: ‘Mutual interest’ exists between Oregon Ducks and Bronny James in recruiting efforts

According to a new report from On3, the Ducks are in fact recruiting Bronny James, and there is mutual interest from both parties.

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.

Film

Bronny James’ Recruiting Profile

Emoni Bates, Ypsi Prep game against Bronny James, Sierra Canyon postponed

Ypsi Prep’s game against Bronny James and Sierra Canyon has been postponed due to COVID-19 concerns.

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It has been a rare treat for Michigan State Basketball fans that they have gotten the chance to watch two of their recruits, Emoni Bates and Jaden Akins, play on national TV this fall. Bates, Akins and Yspi Prep were recently showcased on ESPN2 against Chet Holmgren’s AAU team Team Sizzle.

Bates and Akins were scheduled to play another high-profile game on national TV this Friday against Lebron “Bronny” James Jr., the already-famous son of Lebron James. Unfortunately, that game has been postponed due to COVID-19 concerns.

The Allen Event Center released this statement on Thursday morning:

“The health and safety of the players, coaches, fans and staff is our utmost priority, and with increased travel concerns, we believe it is in everyone’s best interest to postpone the event to a safer time,” the statement from the Allen Event Center read.

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MSU Basketball commits Emoni Bates, Jaden Akins to face Bronny James Jr. on FS1

Michigan State Basketball commits Emoni Bates and Jaden Akins will face off with Bronny James on FS1 on November 21.

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I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen this much hype around a Michigan high school basketball player ever, let alone a Michigan State Basketball commit.

We already knew that Ypsi Prep Academy, home of MSU commits Emoni Bates and Jaden Akins, would be featured on ESPN on Nov. 12, but on Tuesday, we found out that they will also be playing on FS1 on Nov. 21.

To make it even more exciting, Bates will be facing off against Lebron “Bronny” James Jr., the son of arguably the best NBA player of all time and Los Angeles Laker Lebron James. Bronny plays for Sierra Canyon.

The event will take place at the Allen Event Center in Dallas, Texas and it is being put on by NBA player Danny Green.

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LeBron James writes Bronny a heartfelt birthday message from NBA bubble

LeBron’s eldest son turns 16 on Tuesday, the same day the Los Angeles Lakers look to take a 3-1 lead in the 2020 NBA Finals.

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Among the many unexpected things to happen during 2020 and the longest season in NBA history is that LeBron James isn’t home to celebrate the 16th birthday of his eldest son, Bronny, because he’s in the middle of the NBA Finals in early October. But while LeBron isn’t able to be with his on for his birthday, he wanted to let Bronny know how much he means to him and authored a long, heartfelt message to him on his Instagram on Tuesday morning. LeBron and the Lakers are preparing for Game 4, in which the Heat could get back center Bam Adebayo. James also shared a precious collection of photos of Bronny, dating back to when he was just a newborn.

While LeBron has been joined in the bubble by his wife Savannah and the two were able to celebrate their anniversary, the James family elected not to have their kids inside the bubble because James believed it was not a very “kid-friendly” place with little to do.

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North Carolina Central University reportedly offers Bronny James a basketball scholarship

North Carolina Central University reportedly offers Bronny James a basketball scholarship.

Sierra Canyon (CA) High School freshman, Bronny James, received a scholarship offer from North Carolina Central University this weekend according to the recruiting website Verbal Commits. While NCCU competes outside of college basketball’s power five, the D-I offer is notable for a number of reasons beyond the fact that it will go down as the first offer the young king received this decade.

Outside of the standing offers Bronny has already received from schools like Kentucky and Duke whose coaches have close relationships with LeBron, this was also the first scholarship offer LeBron Jr. has received since his high school career began. He received it from a North Carolina Central program that has a history of going after high-profile recruits as well who are projected to make a brief stop before entering the league.

According to HBCU Gameday, NCCU coach LeVelle Moton continued to recruit Raleigh prep sensation John Wall despite the attention he received from Kentucky and elsewhere before he became the No. 1 pick in the 2010 NBA Draft. Moton, the Eagles coach since 2009, has also passed on hiring assistant coaching candidates who expressed on social media that they believe LeBron James is overrated.

The tweet on May 3, 2018 about passing on the coach who reached out to him because he posted that LeBron was overrated may go down as the chess move of all recruiting chess moves if Moton is able to pull off the improbable and secure Bronny’s services in a few years.

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LeBron James emotional for ‘full circle’ of Bronny Jr. playing alma mater St. Vincent-St. Mary’s

Los Angeles Laker star LeBron James spoke about his feelings regarding his son’s upcoming game against his high school alma mater.

[lawrence-related id=23045]LeBron James and the Los Angeles Lakers will start a five-game road trip on Wednesday night against the Orlando Magic that will take them through five Eastern Conference cities, but the coming weekend is going to be an important one in the James family household for reasons beyond the Lakers keeping a perfect record away from Staples Center.

This Saturday, LeBron James’ eldest son Bronny Jr. and his Sierra Canyon Trail Blazers squad will be in Columbus, Ohio to face off against LeBron’s alma mater, St. Vincent-St. Mary’s High School from Akron, Ohio. As the Lakers are between games on Saturday, James is expected to be in attendance if the weather allows. James opened up about how that day will feel in an interview with ESPN’s Dave McMenamin.

(H/T to our own Cody Taylor from Rookie Wire)

Obviously, everybody knows that St. Vincent-St. Mary is when people started to recognize me from a national standpoint and for it to be 15 years later and my son is about to play a high school game versus my alma mater in our home state, the only thing that would have been more emotional is if my son was playing St. Vincent-St. Mary at the LeBron James Arena in Akron. That would have been like, that would have been too much.

It’s just a pretty cool thing. You don’t know how things are going to line up in life and it almost seems like it’s all coming back full circle seeing my oldest son doing the things that he’s doing. I’m proud of him and his basketball club. They got a great team but more importantly, they are great kids.

James was able to see his son play during some fall league games but since the Lakers season has started and Sierra Canyon’s season has started, there have been a lot of conflicts. But if James does show up, expect him to be somewhere near fellow Sierra Canyon basketball dad Dwyane Wade.

James, of course, burst onto the national scene as a junior with St. Vincent-St. Mary’s after he was featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated. During his senior season, he also was the first player to have his game airing on ESPN, with college commentators Jay Bilas, Bill Walton and Dick Vitale on the call.

While this game won’t have quite as much pomp and circumstance, it’s hard to imagine how much this game will mean to James and his family after all these years.

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Bronny James scores 10 points for Sierra Canyon in high school basketball debut

Bronny James scores 10 points for No. 3 ranked Sierra Canyon Trailblazers in high school basketball debut.

Bronny James made his high school basketball debut for Sierra Canyon on Thursday and played well coming off the bench during an overwhelming victory. The oldest son of LeBron James is only a freshman and has already earned a spot in the rotation for a high school hoops juggernaut that is currently ranked No. 3 in the country.

During what was eventually decided as a 91-44 victory over Montgomery High School in San Diego at the San Diego Tip-Off Challenge, James would connect on a pair of triples and finish with 10 points. With 7:12 remaining in the second quarter, Bronny would connect on a 3-pointer from the left wing for the first high school bucket of his career.

Jordan Divens of MaxPreps.com described the win for the Sierra Canyon Trailblazers as a wire-to-wire victory.

“The two-time defending CIF Open Division state champions jumped to a 7-0 advantage and led by as many as 53 points in the wire-to-wire victory.

The Trailblazers were paced by strong efforts from Kentucky pledge B.J. Boston, who finished with 22 points to lead all scorers, and TCU commit Terren Frank, who chipped in 20.

James – the son of Lakers star and NBA legend LeBron James – produced 10 points off the bench. The freshman knocked down a pair of threes from the left corner and added a couple of layups.”

As a note, the 10 points that Bronny scored were just one half point away from the over/under of 10.5 on the season that BetOnline released just before tip-off. Meanwhile, Dwyane Wade’s son, Zaire Wade, added six points for Sierra Canyon in the victory.

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How many points per game is Bronny James expected at Sierra Canyon?

LeBron James and Dwyane Wade had the Miami Heat from 2010 until 2014. Now, their sons LeBron James Jr. and Zaire Wade have Sierra Canyon.

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LeBron James and Dwyane Wade had the Miami Heat from 2010 until 2014. Now, their sons LeBron James Jr. and Zaire Wade have Sierra Canyon.

The younger generation of the NBA champions will team up to create a powerhouse high school in Southern California. They will have 15 games broadcasted on ESPN during their first season together as high school stars.

As the spotlight shines on these basketball stars with a constant buzz on television and social media, the high school team is given a pro-feel to its coverage. That means there is already an over-under set for how many points per game James will score as a freshman.

Somehow, via BetOnline, that means you can actually put your hard-earned money on the scoring averages of a 15-year-old basketball player.

Considering this is his first year playing at the high school level and he will join a team contending for the state title, the odds are currently at a modest 10.5 points per game.

The over-under for Wade, who is an incoming senior for Sierra Canyon, is 14.5 points per game. Wade averaged 7.7 points per game for his AAU team on the D1 circuit in the Nike EYBL competition.

James and Wade will also be joined by five-star senior shooting guard BJ Boston (Kentucky), four-star senior power forward Terren Frank (TCU), five-star senior small forward Ziaire Williams and five-star sophomore shooting guard Amari Bailey.

Their odds to win the state championship are -300, giving them an implied probability of 75 percent to take home the open division title. They have also won the state title in 2015, 2018 and 2019.

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