Bronny James is widely regarded as one of the most promising high school basketball players in the nation.
Although nobody quite knows what his ceiling is, a number of collegiate programs are eager to find out firsthand.
Specifically, five schools have expressed interest in the heir apparent to the James family throne, with West Coast schools seemingly having an edge in the running.
This week, a new dark horse candidate emerged for Bronny’s services.
According to college basketball recruiting insider Jamie Shaw, Memphis is now very much in the running.
“Memphis is the newest school actively recruiting four-star Bronny James, a source told On3… We wrote during Nike’s Peach Jam that Penny Hardaway was courtside, among the 150 college coaches and NBA personnel watching James play. Hardaway was impressed with the 6-foot-3 guard’s 15.8 points, 5.8 rebounds, and 2.5-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio,” Shaw noted.
Moreover, there seem to be notable ties between Hardaway and Bronny’s dad, LeBron.
“LeBron James has not been shy about saying he grew up a fan of Penny Hardaway,” Shaw added. “In 2019, after being seen dapping up Penny Hardaway courtside while playing the Memphis Grizzlies, LeBron told the media, ‘Penny was one of my favorite players growing up. I kind of idolized Michael Jordan, but I wanted to be like Penny.’”
Both LeBron and Hardaway also have strong Nike ties.
Obviously none of this guarantees Bronny going to Memphis, but the connections are hard to ignore.
Bronny recently (inexplicably) dropped in the national rankings, but that doesn’t appear to have damaged his stock any. Programs are just as intrigued by him now as they were before. Although he is undeniably smaller than his little brother, Bryce, his athleticism is off the charts.
Plus, mentally, the kid is tough as nails. Between his controversial pictures with his girl and the hate he received for Russell Westbrook becoming a Los Angeles Laker, it was one thing after another. And yet neither of those things rattled him.
In fact, it feels like Bronny has progressively gotten better since both things occurred.
The Cardinals are looking very promising this year. https://t.co/088ffQERgX
— Game 7 (@game7__) August 20, 2022
Bronny will be fascinating to watch when he finally goes to college. He’ll be one of the most highly-scrutinized young players of all time.
Will he end up with Hardaway and Memphis when it’s all said and done?
Time will tell.
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A graduate from the University of Texas, Anthony Amador has been credentialed to cover the Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys, San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and high school games all over the Lone Star State. Currently, his primary beats are the NBA, MLB, NFL and UFC.
