Bronny James to USC: LeBron's son joins program that is producing NBA players and NCAA Tournament berths

Bill Trocchi

Bronny James to USC: LeBron's son joins program that is producing NBA players and NCAA Tournament berths image

Five-star Bronny James’ commitment to USC has come with plenty of fanfare and it will no doubt be a boost to a program that has quietly been putting together a strong run under coach Andy Enfield and is poised for a breakout season in 2023-24.

In addition to James, USC is bringing in the No. 1 player in the country in guard Isaiah Collier plus four-star center Arrinten Page and four-star guard Silas Demary Jr. Prior to James' commitment, the recruiting class was ranked No. 28 by 247Sports.

The Trojans, at least for now, are also bringing back four starters from a team that went 22-11, 14-6 in the Pac-12 and earned a No. 10 seed in the NCAA Tournament. Leading scorer Boogie Ellis, who started for two years at Memphis before starting two years at USC, reportedly plans to return for a fifth season and play with Collier and now James in what should be a formidable backcourt.

Enfield, who is entering his 11th season in Los Angeles, has had the Trojans in the NCAA Tournament in five of the past seven tournaments and USC would have made the 2020 NCAA Tournament had it not been cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. That is the most of any coach in school history.

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USC players in the NBA Draft

Enfield has also had success getting players into the NBA, Enfield has had three freshmen become first-round picks and three other players become second-round picks during his tenure with USC. Evan Mobley was picked No. 3 overall in 2021 by the Cavaliers after one year of college and is averaging 16 points per game with the Cavs. Onyeka Okongwu was also one-and-done at USC and was picked No. 6 by the Hawks in 2020. And Kevin Porter Jr. left USC after one season and was picked No. 30 by the Bucks in 2019. 

Here's a look at USC's recent first-round draft picks:

 
Name Year Draft Pos. Team
Evan Mobley 2021 3 Cavaliers
Onyeka Okongwu 2020 6 Hawks
Kevin Porter Jr. 2019 30 Bucks

Enfield’s second-rounders from USC include Isaiah Mobley (2022), De’Anthony Melton (2018) and Chimezie Metu (2018). Jordan McLaughlin is another Enfield product from USC who is playing in the NBA after going undrafted in 2018.

Bill Trocchi

Bill Trocchi Photo

Bill Trocchi grew up reading media Hall of Famers Bob Ryan, Peter Gammons, Will McDonough and others in the Boston Globe every day and wound up taking the sports journalism path after graduating from Vanderbilt. An Alumnus of Sports Illustrated, Athlon Sports and Yahoo Sports/Rivals, Bill focuses on college sports coverage and plays way too much tennis.