USC’s Bronny James cleared for return to basketball 4 months after cardiac arrest
LOS ANGELES — Bronny James has been cleared by doctors for a full return to basketball four months after suffering a cardiac arrest, and the Southern California freshman is expected to make his collegiate debut soon — with his father saying he wouldn’t miss it.
A James family spokesperson said in a statement Thursday that the 19-year-old will have a final evaluation with USC staff this week and resume practice next week. He will be able to play in games “soon after,” it said.
“The heart specialists have cleared him, which is great,” coach Andy Enfield said Thursday after practice, “and now it’s a matter of getting him back on the court next week hopefully to begin working out with the team full contact.”
LeBron James said after the Los Angeles Lakers’ game Thursday night at Oklahoma City that he’d skip a game to attend his son’s college debut
“I already told my teammates that if they play on the same day we’re playing, I’m going to have to catch them the next game,” James said. “Family over everything. Definitely got to see Bronny’s first game whenever he’s cleared and ready to go.”
LeBron said Bronny handled rehab well.
“We had great doctors along the way the whole time telling us that they believe things will work out for us in our favor, so Bronny took care of his business,” LeBron said. “He did everything and didn’t have any setbacks. Didn’t try to rush the process of his rehab. He took every step accordingly to plan.”
Bronny didn’t participate in pregame warmups Wednesday night and he didn’t join his teammates on the bench until late in the first half of their 10678 rout of Eastern Washington. He joked and smiled with the other reserves and he stood at the rear of the huddles during timeouts.
The Trojans (5-2) play No. 11 Gonzaga in Las Vegas on Saturday. Their next home game is Dec. 10 against Long Beach State, a day the Lakers are off, which could allow LeBron to watch his namesake son’s debut. After that, the Trojans hit the road for four straight games.
“That’s not my decision and it’s probably too early to speculate,” Enfield said. “He’s been out of basketball for quite a few months, so we’ll be patient with him and once we get the green light we’ll get him into games.”
USC fell out of the AP Top 25 poll this week after a twopoint loss to Oklahoma last week.
“We’re excited, but we’ll be even more excited when he’s actually out there with us playing,” leading scorer Boogie Ellis said. “That’s definitely a piece that we’re missing.”
While Bronny will be a welcome addition to USC’s rotation, he’ll need time to acclimate to game action.