USC Basketball: Evan Mobley's High School Coach Reflects On Bronny James' Freshman Season
USC Trojans freshman guard Bronny James has had a tough go in his first season with the team. His start of the season was delayed after he unfortunately suffered a cardiac arrest attack over the summer, which has impacted his production.
Thankfully, his doctors cleared him to return to game action, but it's been a challenging first season. James is only averaging five points per game and doesn't start for the Trojans, despite the team not being very good.
This has led many to speculate about what he will do after the year ends, either stay in college for another season or head to the NBA. The pressure to enter the NBA is there, in part due to his dad, LeBron James, still playing at a high level.
But there are those who believe that Bronny should stay in college to develop his skills a little more. Former USC center Evan Mobley's high school coach, Ray Barefield, weighed in on the year that James has put together at USC, saying that his work ethic will ultimately help him.
“A lot of times, you look at NBA players, they’re jumping in production. Is it really that they’re getting better, or they’re getting that much more mentally mature? Most of the time, their jump is mental maturity. … He’s entitled to a [maturation] process."
The case for Bronny to improve is there, especially with how his year has gone. Maybe having a normal offseason could allow him to return to the player that many believed he could be.
“I just think it’s going to take its natural course,” Barefield says. “It may be not on the time frame that people think it should be or it’s supposed to be based on what they perceive as hype. But if Bronny can keep being the kid he is, and with the work ethic he has and the right attitude that I see he’s always had, I think it will take place.”
The only one who knows how ready he is for the NBA is James himself. It needs to be his decision alone in what his next career steps are.
