Duke basketball recruiting: LeBron James Jr. suffers significant setback

Duke basketball recruiting prospect LeBron James Jr. (Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)
Duke basketball recruiting prospect LeBron James Jr. (Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports)

A high-profile Duke basketball recruiting prospect might be out for months.

The Duke basketball recruiters haven’t even fully dived into their 2022 efforts yet. So it could be a while before they hand out 2023 offers. Whenever that day comes, though, chances are Sierra Canyon (Calif.) combo guard LeBron James Jr. will land one.

Yes, Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski should eventually target the 6-foot-3, 180-pound five-star, even if only out of respect for his Olympic gold bond with LeBron James — not to mention all the Blue Devil apparel that “Bronny” has donned in his early public spotlight.

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That said, the aggressive playmaker, who ranks No. 25 overall on the 247Sports 2023 Composite, is now facing an unfortunate roadblock. According to an article on Thursday from Tarek Fattal of the Los Angeles Daily News, Bronny James recently underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus, which he actually divulged himself several weeks ago via Twitch.

A long road to recovery ahead for the potential Duke basketball target

Fattal noted James should fully recover but also pointed to a timeline that will probably keep the famous prep out of action through the end of his current sophomore campaign:

“There’s no telling how many games James will miss this spring if prep basketball is given the green light to play. Sierra Canyon has competed as a club team called CBC (California Basketball Club) this year and plans to compete March 5 in Utah against Seattle Rotary. There are also rumblings that CBC will play other out-of-state games in March. James will not be playing.”

There’s no word on how James tore his meniscus or to which knee the injury occurred.

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