Unlikely school reportedly making push to recruit Bronny James
Dec 7, 2019; Scottsdale, AZ, USA; Sierra Canyon School guard LeBron James Jr (0) against Millennium High School during the 2019 Hoophall West basketball tournament at Chaparral High School. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
Despite it likely being a halfcourt prayer, one less-heralded school is shooting their shot with Bronny James.
Billy Witz and Adam Zagoria of the New York Times reported this week that Rutgers University is making an unexpected push to recruit Bronny, eldest son of Los Angeles Lakers superstar LeBron James. The report adds that Rutgers is hoping that head coach Steve Pikiell’s strong track record of developing lightly-regarded recruits will appeal to Bronny.
Rutgers went 18-14 last season and qualified for the NCAA Tournament but lost to Notre Dame in the First Four. Pikiell will be entering his seventh year on the job next season and has gotten a couple of his former Rutgers players to the NBA such as Ron Harper Jr. (who recently signed a two-way contract with the Toronto Raptors) and Eugene Omoruyi (who got a two-way deal this summer from the Oklahoma City Thunder).
As for Bronny, he is about to be a senior in high school and will turn 18 in October. Though he is a four-star prospect, questions have begun to arise about just how good an NBA prospect Bronny will be. But both Bronny’s family name and the hype surrounding him should draw the attention of several marquee schools. We already know of a few such schools, though Rutgers is now hoping to crash the party as well.
