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WOW: LeBron James Wanted to Play for Cincinnati Bearcats and Bob Huggins

Wow.

James Rapien

Nov 27, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) smiles
Nov 27, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) smiles / Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

CINCINNATI — LeBron James is one of the greatest basketball players ever. He went from high school straight to the NBA, but the four-time World Champion revealed that there was a time in his life when he wanted to play for the Cincinnati Bearcats.

"I loved Cincinnati," James said on the Mind The Game podcast. "I remember as a kid watching it. When I was growing up I wanted to go to Cincinnati because of the uniforms and because of Huggs."

The 90s and early 2000s Bearcats were one of the coolest teams in college basketball.

James mentioned former Bearcats head coach Bob Huggins. He also talked about Steve Logan, Kenyon Martin, Kenny Satterfield, Demar Johnson and Ruben Patterson.

Obviously James went straight to the NBA. He also mentioned wanting to play for North Carolina as he got older. It is a fun "what if?" and it's a reminder of how the Bearcats were viewed in the late 90s and early 2000s.

Check out the clip below and watch the full discussion here.

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James Rapien

JAMES RAPIEN

James Rapien covers the Bengals for Sports Illustrated's AllBengals.com and the Bearcats for AllBearcats.com. He is one-half of the Locked on Bengals Podcast. He earned a journalism degree from the University of Cincinnati and has spent the majority of his professional career in the Queen City. Rapien previously covered the Cavaliers and Indians in Cleveland. He has a background in radio, which includes stops at 700 WLW, ESPN 1530 and 92.3 The Fan. He loves a good trade rumor and uses copious amounts of hot sauce on his food. Cincinnati chili is his go-to meal, followed by gallons of mint chocolate chip ice cream for dessert. When he isn't working or eating, he's probably walking his dog Finley or spending time with his family. 

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