James establishing himself as solid perimeter defender
LOS ANGELES >> He trudged to the bench for the second straight game, Bronny James' frustration evident in the stone of his face and the sagging of his shoulders, pulled without hesitation at the first sign of a mistake.
He'd swiped down on a drive by Utah guard Deivon Smith late in the first half, the smack echoing across a mild Galen Center, running across the court in disagreement with a foul call. Coach Andy Enfield barked and waved him over, not bothering to plead a fruitless case to the referee, instead sending him to the bench. James had played all of seven minutes in this first half; he'd subbed in just a minute and a half earlier.
It has been a strange and tumultuous season for James, forced to start his college basketball career in recovery from a health scare, bouncing from a minutes restriction to USC's starting point guard to a quasi-sixth man role. Every step forward has been met with a progressive step back, often prompted by an Enfield hook. He passes up approximately five open shots per game and occasionally fouls too often when he favors his hands on defense. Last Saturday, against Stanford, he committed a foul in the second half, and Enfield sent Kobe Johnson to the scorer's table. James pointed at Johnson — for me? — and his gait drooped walking off the floor, tugging a towel over his face on the bench.
“He made a couple defensive mistakes in the first half,” Enfield said after a 68-64 victory over Utah on Thursday. “In the second half, he learned from that, we talked to him at halftime, and in the second half he was terrific.”
He was. When James is fully engaged and moving his feet, there are few better perimeter defenders in the Pac-12. After entering a few minutes into the second half against Utah, he filled in the gaps beautifully, the kind of off-the-bench scrappiness that would make him a simple fan favorite if not for the weight of expectations on his last name.
Amid one late push, he face-guarded Utah senior guard Gabe Madsen out to a catch well beyond the 3-point line – but slipped. Madsen drove, immediately, with the lack of pressure. Except James somehow recovered, bolting back to get in front of Madsen's drive, then swiping down at the perfect time for a tremendous steal. Clean, this time. He roared in triumph, grabbing an offensive rebound and converting a Euro-step layup a few minutes later to finish with one of his better all-around games of the season: seven points, three assists, a steal, a block, no turnovers.
“He had been struggling with his shooting,” Enfield said of James, who is shooting 36% from the field for the season. “And we want him to shoot open shots, but as you saw tonight, he can affect winning in a variety of ways.”
And then, with USC ahead 66-58 and a few minutes to play, Enfield pulled James again in favor of junior wing Johnson.
Utah went on an immediate 6-0 run.
Enfield subbed James back in with less than a minute to play as part of a small-ball lineup, and USC closed out the win. But the move pointed to a larger theme that has prevailed for USC this season. At the first or second sign of a mistake, Enfield has often yanked younger players like James, Arrinten Page or Oziyah Sellers — the latter of whom didn't play against Utah — in favor of veterans, an understandable move but one that has appeared to affect rhythm at times. Enfield turned back to Johnson as a starter against Utah; the junior is still a trustworthy defender but has shot 34.6% from the field and 23.7% from behind the arc since December started.
The best version of James clearly unlocks another level to USC's perimeter defense and flow offensively. His utilization will be a major storyline through the rest of the season, as USC hopes to make a run through the Pac-12 tournament.
“I think he's gotten better each week, I do,” assistant coach Chris Capko said of James in late January. “I think his stamina, he looks stronger on the floor each week. I think he's got a better sense of our play, our system, our defense, both sides of the floor each week. And honestly, his approach has been awesome, man.”