You could see the pride on LeBron James’ face and the emotion in his voice as he discussed his son, Bronny, choosing to stay close to home and play basketball for USC.
LeBron was proud that his oldest would be attending college. That, according to James, will make him the first in the family to do so.
“To my knowledge, this is the first one out of the James gang to go to college,” said James.
That’s an incredible moment for the entire James family, one that should be celebrated and cherished by all.
Yet, during his postgame speech after beating the Warriors, LeBron said something regarding Bronny that really stood out.
But it wasn’t about being the first in the family to attend college or how proud he was as a father.
Instead, it was a simple statement that exposed the reality of today’s college basketball system, a reality that we all know exists but one most sports fans don’t really harp on as its simply understood and more widely accepted now.
“USC is getting a great kid,” said James. “He’s there to play basketball but they’re going to be super-surpised to see how great a kid he is.”
For those who deny that the current iteration of college basketball for top recruits is to solely play ball, LeBron just shattered your traditionalist notions of today’s student-athletes and college sports. The latter is big business and the former is there to complete the rosters for the university money-making machines.
The three and four years stars and college basketball dynasties are long gone. John Calipari and his one-and-done system at Kentucky ensured that.
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