Incoming Duke Basketball freshmen will always be compared to Zion Williamson, but if the Blue Devils manage to land LeBron James Jr. if, and when, the time comes, he could surpass the Player of the Year’s hype.
LeBron James Jr. could be the most coveted recruit of all time, should the pieces all fall into place, and if he lands in Durham, he would surpass the hype and media circus that surrounded Zion Williamson this past season.
There was intrigue around Zion Williamson from the time he stepped on campus in Durham, primarily to see if he was more than just a dunker.
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After his first 40 minutes of collegiate basketball, his stock was through the roof and it somehow kept growing and now as the No. 1 pick in the 2019 NBA Draft, his brand and his stock is still growing.
A new batch of freshmen have arrived at Duke and before we fully examine them and their potential, or current Blue Devil commits, we look at the next possible recruit that could match what Zion just showed the world.
It doesn’t take a scientist to know why this player would bring a ton of hype around him, just look at his name, LeBron James Jr.
Yes, he is the son of, arguably, the best basketball player of all time, LeBron James, ‘Bronny’ does have the traits to be an elite player himself.
In his first season on the Nike EYBL Circuit, James drew the attention of many high level Division I coaches, including Mike Krzyzewski.
There have been reports that James Jr. already has offers from Duke and Kentucky despite not playing not a minute of high school basketball yet.
The eldest of the James chidden will be attending a Sierra Canyon as a freshman in the fall with an absolutely loaded roster, including Duke target Brandon Boston.
Duke recently has a very good history at landing players from Sierra Canyon with Marvin Bagley III in 2017 and current freshman Cassius Stanley in 2019.
LeBron James Jr. would be a member of the Class of 2023, but his collegiate future still remains cloudy due to the fact that the NBA may allow players to enter the draft straight from high school by then, something that could appeal to him and his father and LeBron James has expressed interest in playing with his son in the NBA.
James got a first-look at the basketball facilities at Duke last summer when his AAU team, the North Coast Blue Chips, took a tour of the hallowed halls of Cameron Indoor Stadium and got some shots up with Williamson, R.J. Barrett, and Director of Basketball Operations and 2010 National Champion, Nolan Smith.
A relationship is building between Mike Krzyzewski and Bronny James and the relationship between Coach K and James Sr. is already present so expect the Hall of Famer to be on the recruiting trail a little more often in California in the coming years.
The sport’s biggest recruit on the sport’s biggest stage.
The hype would be real, it would be palpable, and it would truly be something that we haven’t seen before.