Andy Enfield encourages patience with Bronny James

Bronny James saw the floor again in USC’s 91-75 loss to Auburn Sunday, but head coach Andy Enfield preached patience with the freshman.

James suffered cardiac arrest during summer workouts and frankly it’s amazing he’s able to be back on the court so soon. Enfield didn’t want to put too much on his plate right away and is easing him back into action.

But all of that is to build the son of LeBron James into a fine young player and USC fans should see that later this season.

“As I said, he’s improved but it’s a little unfair to him to be judging him every possession right now,” Enfield said. “He’s come back and it was good minutes tonight, played very hard, he was t more comfortable. He’s a freshman and he’s been out for five months. Very, very challenging for him. But we anticipate he will be a much better player by the middle of the season than he is now.”

Bronny James finished the loss against Auburn with five points and two rebounds in 14 minutes. James’ played a total of 30 minutes in two games this season.

As a member of the Class of 2023, James was a four-star recruit out of Cleveland (Ohio) but played his HS basketball at Sierra Canyon (Calif.), according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He was the No. 6 overall prospect in California, the No. 6 point guard in the class and the No. 25 overall prospect in the class.

The comeback to the court has been remarkable for the freshman. It was unclear if he would suit up this year, but he worked his way back onto the court for the Trojans.

If James can get better as he has every single season, someone like NBA legend Charles Barkley won’t be the only legend raving about the eldest son of “The King.”

“Well, thank you guys for having me, the first thing I want to say is man, great to see Bronny James on a basketball court,” Barkley said during the broadcast of the USC-Auburn game Sunday. “You know, that’s the most important thing. Shout out to Bronny and LeBron and his family. It’s just great to have him out there.”

USC returns to action Tuesday night at 7:00 p.m. ET on the road against Alabama State. It could be a good opportunity for James to see the floor a bit more.