REPORT: Michigan Among Schools Recruiting '24 4* SG Bronny James, Lebron's son

Submitted by Denard In Space on August 12th, 2022 at 5:49 PM

Below is a link to an article indicating that Michigan is among the schools recruiting Lebron James' Son, Bronny.  What do you folks think about the possibility?

On one hand, the kid is the no. 43 recruit in the nation and a defensive 6'3 shooting guard (whose 3 pointer is improving).  Pretty much a take for any NCAA team on paper.  On the other, more conservative fans may be concerned about the "media circus" surrounding the son of one of the greatest NBA players of all time.

Personally he's a take for me all day every day.  Just having Lebron involved even on a tertiary basis would be outstanding from a recruiting perspective. I also think Juwan would be uniquely qualified to handle Lebron's outsize involvement, having been his coach before.  

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10045226-report-bronny-james-being-recruited-by-ucla-michigan-ohio-state-usc-oregon

Michfan777

August 12th, 2022 at 6:36 PM ^

The only reason any NBA team would pick Bronny is if they were desperate to sell tickets, assuming LeBron does what he says he wants to do and signs wherever his kids play.

Like Arch Manning, Bronny is a massively overrated prospect who would be a 3 star at best if his last name differed from his family's.

Cali Wolverine

August 13th, 2022 at 4:34 AM ^

Bronny isn’t a one and done player (unless he is moving to Europe) because he is not that talented.  His younger brother Bryce is a far more talented player, and much taller.  The only reason anyone is talking about him is because his name is “Bronny”.  Last year Bronny was probably the 7th or 8th best player on his own high school team.  The gap in talent between last year’s teammate Amari Bailey (UCLA Freshman) and Bronny is HUGE. I watched him play in person twice last year against my high school…he combined for 6 total points in both games.  He is not going to be an elite college player, and the only way he will possibly make it to the NBA is because someone is doing his Dad a favor.

bluesalt

August 13th, 2022 at 6:09 PM ^

Bronny isn’t a one-and-done player, but he thinks he is, and his dad has as much said if you draft Bronny I’ll play for you too.  Which is terrible for the kid and hopefully LeBron backs off that pledge, but if not, he’s a one and done at most and likely a G-League Ignite player.

The good news about Bronny is he doesn’t need our Athletic Department’s help (or more accurately lack thereof) for NIL, so that wouldn’t be a hindrance to him signing on.

LDNfan

August 13th, 2022 at 3:16 AM ^

Its the way of college basketball...so you don't turn your back on talent that you think will help you win based on a simple metric like this. 

Personally I think its good to have a mix... but I 100% trust coach to put together a winning roster. 

 

 

shags

August 12th, 2022 at 6:00 PM ^

LeBron was teammates with Juwan for a couple of years in Miami.  With NIL in place, Bronny may play in college, and with his dad's connection with the Michigan coach, the Wolverines may have a chance here.

907_UM Nanook

August 13th, 2022 at 2:34 PM ^

Bronny has been schooled by NBA players, mainly big poppa, on how to take care of his body and has a very fundamental based game. I love his 4-year potential and he's a winner from a family of winners. Also prospect of combo package with his lil bro in year 3 makes Bronny's recruitment important.

I'm not into "Lebron the player", since I'm a Celtics fan. But I love "Lebron the human" and his family would be a perfect fit for UM and a big "in your face" to buckeye fans.

Denard In Space

August 12th, 2022 at 6:17 PM ^

I would think so, too.  But then I imagined Bronny leaning heavily towards Juwan's charisma and wisdom, in spite of family pressures. Then Bronny stars in an Athletic puff piece talking about "You don't know what I'm thinking" even though it's already largely assumed he'll go blue. Then Bronny makes an announcement on ESPN, with a special entitled "Carving My Own Path." He puts the Block M hat on his head. Fin.  

Blue Vet

August 12th, 2022 at 6:00 PM ^

If Juwan thinks Bronny would fit, I'd trust the coach, both in his assessment of the player's capabilities and in his ability to handle the public scrutiny.

RAH

August 13th, 2022 at 9:08 AM ^

Your comments were so out of line here I was moved to take a quick look at your posting history. I thought maybe you were a troll. But it turns out that this is just who you are: angry and contemptuous of others. That has to be a miserable way to go through life. You should consider that being generally happy might be a better option.

stephenrjking

August 12th, 2022 at 6:37 PM ^

This would be a long-shot, except that Juwan, uh, knows the kid's family pretty well. 

I don't like the "he's a take, he's not a take" language much. 

It would bring media attention, but: 1. Michigan has had good success with kids of NBA players before; 2. Lebron is a smart basketball guy.

I'd love to have him on the team. 

Denard In Space

August 12th, 2022 at 10:21 PM ^

Caveat that I am no MattEM but from what I've seen Bronny makes sense as a 4 star prospect (to use his parlance, "in the 40-60 range").  He's not nearly as athletic or huge as his dad but he also plays with high level competition on a regular basis and doesn't seem out of place at all.  He looks like he can make intelligent plays and more recent "film" which to be clear is mostly highlights for a rando like me, make it look like he has a good stroke.  I've only read about his defense but it's reputed to be high-level for his competition.  

MaizeBlueA2

August 13th, 2022 at 10:16 AM ^

Fair question, but people have to stop acting like he's getting rated like he's his dad.

#43 is like Jett Howard and Derrick Walton territory. Kobe Bufkin and Frankie Collins were both right around there.

So you're talking about a guy who would come in and in year one, see what maybe 8 mpg? That's not overrated, lol.

If he had Derrick Walton's career...is that LeBron? Of course not. But every single one of us would take that in a heartbeat.

If I told you he was MAAR 2.0, would you sign up for that? That's not an NBA player.

Eli Brooks? We would take another one of those? Obviously.

The only reason why he wouldn't be a take, IMO...is because if you view him as a guy like the names I've just mentioned, those guys weren't "one-and-dones." If he's leaving after a year, it may be pointless if you think he's like those guys, who developed over time.

With LeBron wanting to play a year with Bronny, the assumption is that he'll be a one-and-done or go to a developmental league for a year before LeBron's team can pick him up as an UFA and put him on a 2-way deal so he can "play" with his pops.

But if he's committed to going to college and entering the league when he's ready. There's no reason not to take him (again, assuming you believe he's going to develop like those other guys who did).