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In one of their highest-profile games thus far, Bronny and Bryce James played their father's alma mater.
St. Vincent-St. Mary's came out on top 67-61 over Sierra Canyon on Saturday night from Nationwide Arena in Columbus, Ohio.
LeBron James first arrived on the national scene when he was a student at St. Vincent-St. Mary's. He led the Akron, Ohio, school to three state titles before being the No. 1 overall pick in the 2003 NBA draft and becoming one of the greatest basketball players of all time.
Despite all the hype around the James brothers squaring off against St. Vincent-St. Mary's, neither Bronny nor Bryce is likely to put this game on their highlight reel.
Bronny made just one field goal in the first half and finished the game with seven points, six rebounds and four assists. The 18-year-old fouled out late in the fourth quarter as the Trailblazers were attempting to make a comeback.
Sierra Canyon did cut the deficit to four at 61-57 with 40 seconds remaining, but the Fighting Irish were able to make clutch free throws to preserve the win.
Bryce didn't even make an appearance in the game, though there were fans in the stands who wanted to see him. LeBron was not in attendance after the Lakers played Friday night in Los Angeles and play at home again Sunday.
The loss is just the second of the season for Sierra Canyon, which came into the game ranked No. 25 in the nation by ESPN.com. St. Vincent-St. Mary improved to 4-1 with the win.
While most of the attention was on LeBron's sons playing against his high school team, Isaiah Elohim was the best player for Sierra Canyon with 22 points. The 6'5" shooting guard is a 5-star prospect and 12th-ranked player in the 2024 recruiting class by 247Sports.
Sierra Canyon will look to rebound in its next game on Wednesday against Venice in Los Angeles.
The #JamesGang has become the #KlutchGang.
Klutch Sports, the agency founded by LeBron James' longtime friend and agent Rich Paul, announced the signing of Bryce James, LeBron's youngest son, to an NIL contract Monday.
The agency will handle Bryce James' negotiations with companies seeking to sign the 15-year-old to endorsement contracts during his prep career.
While Bronny James, LeBron's oldest son, has received national attention for his stardom on the prep level, Bryce has been increasingly viewed as potentially the better long-term prospect.
"There are people who told me that Bryce actually might be the better prospect amongst the two," ESPN's Brian Windhorst said in March on the Dan Patrick Show.
Bryce James, a member of the 2025 recruiting class, is yet to have a star-rating designation on any major recruiting website. Bronny James is currently ranked as the No. 43 overall player in the 2023 recruiting class by 247Sports' composite rankings.
Regardless of whether either son winds up reaching NBA stardom, they stand to make a ton of money in NIL contracts as they pursue their prep and collegiate dreams.
Kentucky commit Robert Dillingham, one of the top players in the 2023 college basketball recruiting class, is leaving Donda Academy and signing with the Overtime Elite league.
Shams Charania of Stadium and The Athletic first reported the news and said Dillingham will maintain his college eligibility.
Donda Academy principal Jason Angell announced last week it was planning to shut down for the remainder of the 2022-23 school year following antisemitic remarks by rapper Kanye West, who founded the school earlier this year. That decision was reversed hours later.
Dillingham is a 5-star prospect and the No. 9 overall recruit in the 2023 class, according to 247Sports' composite rankings. He received interest from several high-profile college programs before he committed to UK in June.
The 6'2", 165-pound point guard is a high-volume player who's showcased a tremendous flair with the ball in his hands, and he's started to develop a reliable outside shot that solidified him as a top-tier college prospect.
His stock took off after he helped lead Team USA to a gold medal in the 2021 FIBA U-16 Americas Championship. He was named MVP of the tournament after averaging 15.7 points, 6.2 assists, 3.2 steals and 2.5 rebounds in six games.
Now he'll head to Overtime Elite, a professional league aimed at players aged 16-20 that's emerging as a collegiate alternative for prospects awaiting NBA draft eligibility.
Dillingham, 17, will keep his "priority focused" on playing for Kentucky next season despite the switch from traditional high school ball to OTE, per 247Sports' Travis Branham.
"I couldn't be more excited to join OTE," Dillingham said. "The team and resources they offer are amazing, and this is an incredible opportunity to continue to develop my game and take it to the next level, while competing against elite talent."
Tim Fuller, OTE's vice president of recruiting and player personnel, celebrated the dynamic guard's arrival.
"We are excited to recruit Rob Dillingham to our league," Fuller said. "He brings an elite knack for scoring and an infectious passion for the game. His shiftiness and incredible speed with the ball make him slithery agile with the ball in his hands."
OTE made headlines earlier this week when it announced a three-year streaming agreement with Amazon Prime Video.
That'll make it easier for Kentucky fans to keep tabs on Dillingham while awaiting his arrival on the Wildcats roster for the 2023-24 campaign.
Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James and his son, Bronny James, were featured in a trailer for the upcoming video game God of War Ragnarök on Tuesday.
The James' were joined by actors John Travolta, Ben Stiller and their children in the PlayStation promotional clip:
LeBron has built a surefire Hall of Fame résumé that's put him in the conversation as one of the greatest basketball players in history with four NBA championships, four MVP awards and 18 All-Star selections, along with numerous other individual accolades.
While he's still chasing titles, there's another goal on his to-do list before he hangs up his jersey for the final time: playing alongside Bronny in the NBA.
"My last year will be played with my son," James told Jason Lloyd of The Athletic in February. "Wherever Bronny is at, that's where I'll be. I would do whatever it takes to play with my son for one year. It's not about the money at that point."
The 6'3'' guard is a 4-star prospect in the 2023 college basketball recruiting class, according to 247Sports' composite rankings. He'll be first eligible for the 2024 draft.
James' recent contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers includes a player option for the 2024-25 season, meaning he'll have an opportunity to opt out and join whichever team drafts his son during the 2024 offseason if he's a one-and-done college player.
Meanwhile, God of War Ragnarök is the ninth edition in the God of War video game franchise, which debuted in 2005.
The single-player action game is scheduled for a Nov. 9 worldwide release on PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5.
A game involving Bronny James and Sierra Canyon School on Saturday was brought to an abrupt end due to a gun scare in the crowd.
According to Tarek Fattal of the Los Angeles Daily News, players from Sierra Canyon and DeMatha Catholic quickly left the court after fans began fighting in the stands. Adding to the alarm, some heard the word "gun" as the altercation was unfolding.
TMZ Sports reported local police arrived at the scene and performed a "thorough search" that didn't turn up a firearm. Authorities also said no injuries were recorded.
DeMatha head coach Mike G. Jones III told TMZ Sports the teams declined to resume the action "out of an abundance of caution."
Reflecting on what happened against DeMatha, James wrote on Instagram that "high schoolers can't even hoop in peace now a days."
Scholastic Play-By-Play Classics announced Tuesday it has removed Donda Academy, the California-based private school backed by Kanye West, from its schedule following West's antisemitic comments.
"Kanye's words and actions violate our values as a company and a country, and what we seek to ensure at all of our events—a spirit of diversity, sportsmanship, inclusion, equity, and mutual respect," the organization said.
Scholastic Play-By-Play added it's sympathetic toward the players who are impacted, calling them "an exemplary group of young men" but said officials "cannot in good conscience host an organization founded and directed by Mr. West at our events."
Twitter locked West's account earlier this month after he wrote in a since-deleted post he was "going death con 3 [sic] On JEWISH PEOPLE." He added, "You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda."
It was one of many troubling remarks the recording artist and fashion designer has made recently. His comments toward the Jewish community also come as cases of antisemitic abuse hit a record high in 2021, according to the Anti-Defamation League.
The fallout for West has been swift, with the 45-year-old losing multiple corporate sponsorships and endorsements. Star athletes Aaron Donald and Jaylen Brown, of the Los Angeles Rams and Boston Celtics respectively, announced Wednesday they were severing their partnerships with Donda Sports' marketing agency.
Donda Academy was scheduled to compete in the Kentucky Play-By-Classic beginning Dec. 11 in Louisville. The roster includes a pair of 5-star recruits, Robert Dillingham and AJ Johnson, in the 2023 class.
LeBron James may have been an Ohio State Buckeye if the one-and-done NBA draft rule was in place when he went straight from high school to the sport's highest level.
Perhaps his son Bronny will be the one to don Scarlet and Gray.
According to Joe Tipton of On3, the younger James is "looking to visit Ohio State" and will "likely" make such a trip Sept. 3, when the football program plays Notre Dame in a highly anticipated primetime showdown.
Tipton reported LeBron also hopes to be in attendance.
The Buckeyes are far from the only ones recruiting Bronny, as Tipton listed USC, Memphis and Oregon as interested. LeBron was quick to shut down rumors that the Ducks were the favorites:
LeBron is from Akron, Ohio, and is a longtime advocate of the Buckeyes. He has attended football games in the past, consistently shouts the team out on social media and has provided apparel for the men's basketball team.
"If I would have had one year of college, I would have ended up down here in Columbus at Ohio State," James previously said (h/t Tipton). "No matter where I go in the world, I will always rock Ohio State colors."
He will certainly be rocking those colors if his son joins the team.
While the men's basketball program is often overshadowed by the powerhouse football team, head coach Chris Holtmann brought in the No. 8 class in the 2022 recruiting cycle and has the No. 4 group in 2023, per 247Sports' composite rankings.
Landing James, a 4-star prospect and the No. 40 player in the 2023 class, would only strengthen what is already a bright future.
And it surely wouldn't hurt the Buckeyes' chances if he were on campus to experience the environment at Ohio Stadium when the football team hosts Notre Dame.
The Oregon Ducks men's basketball team may be appointment viewing during the 2023-24 season.
According to Jamie Shaw of On3 Sports, Oregon, Ohio State and USC are the three known schools to be recruiting Bronny James. He estimated that the Ducks had a 50 percent chance of landing LeBron James' son, while the other two programs each have a 25 percent chance.
"We are told James is going to go through the process," Shaw wrote. "At this point, the plan is to take virtual visits, Zooms, and in-person visits and go through the whole experience. Sources tell us that at this point, Oregon has a lead and that James will end up in Eugene."
The first connection that comes to mind with James and Oregon revolves around Nike. After all, LeBron signed a lifetime deal with the brand, and Phil Knight, who is the company's chairman, went to school at Oregon.
However, Shaw noted the younger James has a "comfort" with the program. It also doesn't hurt that Mookie Cook, who was travel teammates with Bronny in middle school, is part of the Ducks' loaded 2023 recruiting class.
That class already has Cook, who is a 5-star small forward, as well as 5-star power forward Kwame Evans Jr. and 4-star point guard Jackson Shelstad, per 247Sports' composite rankings.
It is currently the sixth-rated class and notably behind another contender in Ohio State (fourth), but adding James would certainly help it climb. James is a 4-star prospect and the No. 43 overall player, No. 7 shooting guard and No. 12 player from the state of California in the 2023 class, per 247Sports' composite rankings.
That is not to say this is a done deal.
USC is close to Sierra Canyon, where James attends high school. Former high school teammate Kijani Wright is also on the Trojans' roster.
As for Ohio State, the James family is from Ohio, and LeBron consistently supports the Buckeyes, be it by attending football games or shouting them out on Twitter. As Shaw noted, he even said he would have attended Ohio State if he played collegiately.
It seems as if this recruiting process will not end in the immediate future with James set to take visits to these schools and perhaps others, but Oregon apparently has the inside track for now.
Bronny James is the most famous high school basketball player in the country in large part because of his father, but there have not been many recruiting updates surrounding LeBron James' son.
In fact, there is not a single listed scholarship offer or crystal ball prediction on his 247Sports page.
Paul Biancardi of ESPN provided a rare update Friday when he reported there was a "strong feeling" James will attend college instead of playing professionally for the G League Ignite or elsewhere before he is eligible for the 2024 NBA draft.
Biancardi also listed UCLA, USC, Michigan, Ohio State and Oregon among the schools that are interested in him, and Jamie Shaw of On3 Sports provided an update on the potential landing spots on Monday.
According to Shaw, Michigan is not actively recruiting James even though head coach Juwan Howard was Miami Heat teammates with LeBron. What's more, UCLA is not actively recruiting him even though it is close to Sierra Canyon, where James plays high school basketball.
That leaves USC as a potential local option, and there is apparently "mutual interest" with the Trojans and Oregon. As for Ohio State, "There has been contact between the parties, and there is talk of a visit that is being scheduled."
There are connections in place between James and all three programs, which Shaw highlighted.
LeBron signed a lifetime deal with Nike, and the company's chairman, Phil Knight, went to school at Oregon. Not only is USC close to his current school, but Bronny's former teammate Kijani Wright plays for the Trojans.
And the James family is from Ohio, with LeBron frequently attending or reacting to Buckeyes football games and even once saying he would have donned the Scarlet and Gray if he did go to college for one season.
Whichever school lands the younger James will be getting more than just a famous son.
He is a 4-star prospect and the No. 43 overall player, No. 7 shooting guard and No. 12 player from California in the 2023 recruiting class, per 247Sports' composite rankings. He is no longer overshadowed by former teammates Amari Bailey, Ziaire Williams and Brandon Boston Jr. at Sierra Canyon and has shown notable progress on the floor.
"You can see the improvements he's made to his game from last year to this year," an NBA scout said of James last month, per Krysten Peek of Yahoo Sports. "He's proving to be more than just a name and impacts the game positively whether that's making the extra pass on offense or dropping down for loose balls in the post on defense."
Another one said, "The most impressive thing about Bronny at this age is his poise on the court and how he consistently makes the right decision. He's a hell of a defender, and you can see he's started to grow into his body a little more."
Bronny's father is one of the best players in NBA history but never made a name for himself at the collegiate level because he went straight to the pros from high school. The younger James could do something his father never did and compete for an NCAA title at Ohio State, USC, Oregon or another school.
