His recruitment, however, was largely played out as “don’t call us, we’ll call you” — and he eventually visited non-basketball powers like Duke and Kentucky. Instead, he toured places where he could play more easily: Oregon, whose benefactor is Nike founder Phil Knight, the shoe company with strong ties to the elder James; Ohio State, the school LeBron said he would have attended had he been required to attend college before going to the NBA; and his close-to-home school, USC
The Trojans will also have DJ Rodman, a transfer from Washington State, whose father, Dennis, was a pop culture sensation in the ’90s. But it’s more than just a group of scions of basketball stars.
USC should be very good after adding one of the top freshmen in the country, Isaiah Collier, a point guard from Marietta, Ga. He will be joined by Boogie Ellis, the Pac-12’s second-leading returning scorer; center Joshua Morgan, who led the conference in blocks; and forward Kobe Johnson, who is the conference’s leading returner in steals.
Iwuchukwu, a 7-foot-1 center, is also considered an NBA prospect.
After this season, Bronny James will be eligible for the NBA draft. LeBron James has often said he wants to play on an NBA team with his son, and has even hinted that he wants to play with his younger son Bryce, 16, who attends Campbell Hall High School in Los Angeles.
LeBron James, 38, led the Lakers to the Western Conference Finals last season, his 20th season in the NBA. In February he became the NBA’s all-time leading scorer, passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who held the title for nearly 39 years.
Gina KolataLivia Albeck-Ripka, Adam Zagoria and Jesus Jimenez contributed reporting.
