Woj: Bronny James Expected to Consider Duquesne Transfer If Guard Forgoes NBA Draft

USC guard Bronny James announced Friday that he's simultaneously entering the NBA draft (while maintaining his college eligibility) and putting his name in the NCAA transfer portal.

If he stays in college, then Duquesne is "expected to be among his prominent considerations," per Adrian Wojnarowski, who noted the connection between the school and James' father, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James.

"Duquesne's new coach, Dru Joyce, was a high school teammate of LeBron's and is a longtime James family friend. Joyce was promoted to head coach after Keith Dambrot retired following an Atlantic 10 championship and a run to the NCAA tournament. Dambrot was the high school coach of James and Joyce at St. Vincent-St. Mary in Akron, Ohio."

James just completed his first collegiate season at USC, which has since seen a coaching change after Arkansas' Eric Musselman came aboard to replace Andy Enfield, who left for SMU.

James suffered cardiac arrest during a July 24 USC practice and underwent a procedure to treat a congenital heart defect. He was cleared to play in late November and made his season debut on Dec. 10.

James averaged 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 19.4 minutes a game.

He understandably had some struggles after going through a terrible ordeal that also wiped out much of his offseason, but the former 4-star prospect did showcase his potential at times, notably posting 11 points, six assists and five rebounds against an Arizona team that eventually earned a No. 2 seed in the NCAA tournament.

James' pursuit of the NBA route would involve him being approved by the league's fitness-to-play panel, per Wojnarowski. He can't participate in team workouts or May's draft combine in Chicago until if/when that occurs.

May 31 marks the deadline date for James to either stay in the draft or withdraw his name from consideration and stay in school.

So we'll see what James decides soon enough, but Duquesne would make plenty of sense if he stays in school given the connection to Joyce.

The reigning Atlantic 10 champions just made an NCAA tournament appearance as well, notably beating BYU in the first round.