Bryce James poses for a family selfie at 2023 McDonald’s High School All-American Game. (Photo by … [+]
Arizona basketball coach Tommy Lloyd has distinguished himself for his ability to recruit and develop talent, especially but not exclusively among faspiring to the next level.
Bryce James, the most recent addition to the nationally respected Arizona program, could be considered one of Lloyd’s next projects.
Bryce, a son of NBA legend LeBron James, announced his commitment to Arizona in an Instagram post on New Year’s Day. The post included a photo-shopped image of James next to Lloyd in front of the Arizona block “A,” with the declaration “100% committed.”
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LeBron re-posted that image on his Instagram account with the message: “CONGRATULATIONS MAXIMUS!! SO PROUD OF YOU!!!”
Bryce James is the second of LeBron’s sons to stay out West for college. Bronny James attended Southern California for one season before joining his father on the Los Angeles Lakers this season after being their second-round choice in the 2024 draft.
Bronny approved.
“Yessirrrrrrr,” Bronny posted on Instagram.
Bryce James chose Arizona after considering Ohio State, USC and Duquesne. The Dukes, the first team to offer Bryce a scholarship, are coached by Dru Joyce III, who was LeBron’s high school teammate.
Bryce, listed as a 6-foot-6 wing, followed his brother at Sierra Canyon School, a private college prep school in Chatsworth, California. NBA players Marvin Bailey III, Scotty Pippen Jr. and Christian Koloko and USC women’s star JuJu Watkins also attended Sierra Canyon.
Bryce is considered a three-star recruit who could develop his game under Lloyd’s tutelage. He is ranked 257th in the composite national rankings conducted by 247sports.com.
“Bryce needs to be given time and space to run his own race though,” 247sports.com scouting Adam Finkelstein wrote in his analysis. “He may not be the dynamic athlete or playmaker some expect at first, but he is a fundamentally sound player with solid perimeter size and a good early skill-set.”
Bryce has made no secret of his admiration of the UA program. He attended the Wildcats’ home game against Duke on Nov. 22 and posted a photograph of himself wearing an Arizona letter jacked captioned “Bear Down?”, a reference to the athletic department’s motto.
Lloyd’s Developmental Success
Lloyd, the principal recruiter at Gonzaga before taking over as head coach at Arizona in 2021-22, was named the national coach of the year by the National Association of Basketball Coaches in his first year in Tucson.
The 33-4 Wildcats won the Pac-12 title by melding an international group that included wing Bennedict Mathurin (Canada), forward Azuolas Tubelis (Lithuania), guard Kerr Kriisa (Estonia) and center Koloko (the Cameroon).
Wing Bennedict Mathurin is one of many players who have advanced through Arizona-NBA pipeline. … [+]
Mathurin, 6-6, was a consensus All-American and the Pac-12 player of the year and Koloko was the Pac-12 defensive player of the year. Tubelis was a second-team All-American in 2022-23, and transfer guard Caleb Love was the Pac-12 player of the year in 2023-24.
Love, a fifth-year senior who is averaging 21.7 points per game for the 7-5 Wildcats, and 6-6 Trey Townsend (10.3 points) have expiring eligibility.
“Pull up broskii,” Love posted after Bryce’s announcement.
Tommy Lloyd can point to a long line of players he nurtured. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)
At Gonzaga, Lloyd is credited with landing and developing current NBA frontcourt players Domantas Sabonis, Rui Hachimura, Kelly Olynyk, Zach Collins and Brandon Clarke.
“If we’ve learned anything over past few years, it is that we should never underestimate genetics,” 247sports.com analyst Eric Bossi wrote in his evaluation of Bryce James, “and there’s been a long line of late-blooming sons of NBA players to support this.
“Can Bryce be the next one?”
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