


Few college coaches have dealt with coaching the son of an NBA superstar.
USC’s head coach Andy Enfield is beginning to face it himself with Bronny James, the oldest son of LeBron James who committed to the Trojans on May 6.
Enfield has not experienced any sort of helicopter parenting from either LeBron or his wife Savannah.
“Well, Savannah and LeBron have been extremely supportive of Bronny and his decision to come to USC,” Enfield told ESPN. “They have a great understanding of what it takes to become a great player. I think the expectations — there are certainly expectations — but the expectations are not unreasonable as parents. They want what most other parents want. They want their son to come get an education, develop on the basketball court, play with other good players and to have a coaching staff that can help them develop and help him become a better player. We think, as coaching staff, LeBron and Savannah have a great understanding of what it’s going to take for Bronny to be a great college player and get to the next level.”
Bronny helped lead Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, Calif.) to a 23-11 record in his senior year, and he joins a star-powered USC roster, including expected starting point guard Isaiah Coller, Boogie Ellis, Kobe Johnson and DJ Rodman, the son of former Chicago Bulls star Dennis Rodman who is transferring from Washington State to take advantage of his extra year of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Enfield noted Bronny’s relations with his teammates when he first saw him, having him believe he will fit well into the college game.
He also said his high basketball IQ, skill set and defensive tools will keep him competitive for a big role in the Trojans’ rotation as a freshman.
“All our guards have a great opportunity to play for us because we don’t have a ton of guards,” Enfield said. “We don’t have eight or nine. We have some opportunity for those guys to carve out a nice role for them, and in Bronny’s case, we don’t promise starting spots, but the nice thing is I think all of our guards will play good minutes for us this year.”
LeBron has expressed interest in playing with his son in the NBA in the past, which heightens the buzz around Bronny starting his collegiate career.
The two won’t be far from one another as The Galen Center is two miles from Crypto.com Arena, where the Lakers play.
“It’s so refreshing to see a young man deal with all the celebrity status of his dad but be such a humble young man,” Enfield said. “And when he gets on the basketball court, he’s a great teammate. We recruited Bronny because we think he’s a great fit for our basketball program as a player and the type of person he is.”