The youngest son of Los Angeles Laker LeBron James is still waiting to make his collegiate debut for the University of Arizona.
After the No. 5 Wildcats narrowly escaped a thrilling 69-65 win over No. 15 UCLA at home on Friday, Bryce James has yet to see the court, leaving fans eager to find out when that moment will come.
The freshman guard, a consensus three-star prospect according to 247Sports’ composite rankings, has yet to make his on-court debut for Arizona.
Arizona head coach Tommy Lloyd said ahead of the season that redshirting James was a “possibility,” but the freshman has expressed eagerness to make his debut for the Wildcats sooner rather than later (8:40 mark).
Arizona opened its season with a 93-87 win over defending champion Florida, a game in which James was not expected to play. In the following two weeks, the Wildcats cruised to blowout victories over Utah Tech and Northern Arizona, using a heavy rotation that again left James on the bench, leaving fans to wonder if he will see the court at all during his freshman season.
A new development has emerged regarding the possibility of redshirting James after Arizona’s win over NAU, as the freshman did not see any “garbage minutes” in the blowout.
“No final decisions have been made,” Lloyd said. “It’s tough. It puts you in a tough situation. You play Bryce in a game like this for three minutes, it burns a year of eligibility. I wish it was easier.”
“I wish there was a set number of games you could play a guy like they have in football. I think that would make sense for some of these kids, but we don’t,” Lloyd continued. “I want Bryce to have the best college basketball career and the most options in his college basketball career long-term, whatever that looks like. Throwing a kid with a lot of potential that’s developing, he or Mabil, a few garbage minutes — it might feel good now, but potentially down the line it could be something you regret.”
Arizona will hit the road for their first time this season against No. 3 UConn on Wednesday while the question of when—or if—James will take the court continues to loom over the Wildcats’ early-season story.