USC was dealt a devastating blow earlier this week when the program announced star freshman guard Isaiah Collier would miss the next 4-6 weeks after suffering a hand injury against Washington State. If matters couldn’t get any worse, USC fell to 8-8 overall and 2-3 in Pac-12 Conference play with a loss to the Cougars at home and it appears the Trojans’ hopes at a berth in the NCAA Tournament are on life support unless they turn things around quickly.
Part of that turnaround could be anchored by another USC star freshman: Bronny James.
With Collier going down with injury, it’s expected that James could see an increased role within the USC offense. The son of NBA superstar LeBron James has been on a minutes restriction during the first eight games of his college career and has yet to exceed more than 20 minutes of action in those contests.
The reason for the restriction stems from a scary health scare over the summer. The younger James went into cardiac arrest during a preseason workout in late July and missed the first eight games of the season before returning against Long Beach State last month.
The best stretch of James’ young career came in the second and third conference games of the season. James scored 15 points in a loss to Oregon State and followed it up by scoring 10 points with three assists days later in a win over Cal.
However, since that performance, James has struggled on the offensive end. James shot 0-of-4 from the floor in a win over Stanford last weekend and followed it having the first scoreless performance of his college career. James missed all three of his field goal attempts against Washington State and played in his second-fewest minutes (15) of the season.
“All players go through stretches where they make and miss shots,” USC coach Andy Enfield said on Wednesday. ” … you can affect winning without scoring the ball, and all our guys and Bronny in particular, he’s…
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