The USC Trojans have some star-studded last names in their team, with Bronny James and DJ Rodman in the squad, and DJ spoke about what it’s like playing with Bronny.
“I think he’s a top defender on our team,” Rodman said of James, per ESPN. “He can make plays, and he’s for sure a point guard [with the way he plays]. I love playing with him, and I love just being around him. I love him as a person and love him as a player.”
USC suffered a 82-74 loss to Oregon in the Pac-12 on Thursday and have dropped four of their last five games.
Bronny has only played in four games after suffering a cardiac arrest in July and is on a minutes restriction.
In the loss, the freshman recorded five points, an assists, three rebounds and two steals in 15 minutes and his USC coach Andy Enfield has been impressed by what he’s seen from LeBron’s eldest son so far.
“Bronny was very solid tonight,” Enfield told ESPN. “He’s still getting back into basketball shape. He gets winded, so we have to give him breaks, but he’s really good of asking to come out of the game. He’s a very impressive young man.
“He gave us good energy off the bench. He just needs to keep getting better. It’s only his fourth game, and so he’s a big part of our team, like our other guys, and we need that. We need all of our guys to improve, including him.”
Much like NBA teams following a string of losses, the USC players had a team meeting after their 91-75 loss at Auburn on December 17 to work out what their identity is.
The younger Rodman said that the meeting definitely helped to build trust.
“Just knowing our roles, just what we expect out of each other,” Rodman said. “It was nothing harsh, nothing mean. It was just realistic. That was one of the best conversations we had as a team, and I feel like that really opened our eyes.”
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