The only time the cameras and spotlight weren't affixed on freshman guard Bronny James before USC's basketball game Saturday afternoon was when his world-famous father, Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, and his family took their courtside seats during the singing of the national anthem just before tip-off.
If this was a more ordinary four-star freshman or more standard circumstances, the younger James would be given the space to ease into his assimilation into college basketball.
But nothing about this is ordinary or standard.
The son of the NBA's all-time leading scorer was set to play in his first college basketball game less than five months after enduring cardiac arrest during a summer workout in July.
So, of course, as he stretched, as he hoisted up shots and threw down dunks in early warmups, as he went through the pregame layup line, as he did ... anything at all, the phone cameras and the professional photographers alike were capturing his every move.
And then, as his family slipped down the sideline to their seats shortly before tip-off, about a dozen photographers kneeled in front of the NBA legend to try to capture any expression or emotion he'd give for the moment.
From those pregame scenes to the postgame press conference with coach Andy Enfield, where about twice as many reporters as usual filled the interview room and shouted questions over each other -- more of them focused on the freshman guard who played 16 minutes off the bench than the Trojans' 84-79 overtime loss to Long Beach State -- it was clear that this was less a mid-December non-conference game and more so an event unto itself.
It was also clear that Enfield, who is in his 11th season as USC's head coach, much preferred to talk about what transpired on the court than everything else that carried more interest to most in the room.
"Look, we recruited Bronny James because he's a very good basketball player, and we expect him to keep developing, now he's back on the court. He went through a very unfortunate situation and he's done an incredible job to get back to this point. So with the extra spotlight or eyeballs, sometimes that comes with a guy like Bronny, but we have to get better as a basketball team and he has to keep improving as an individual player and that's what we're focused on," Enfield said when asked about the potential benefits to his program from the extra attention.
"We don't focus on the amount of media that are here in this room right now -- we're just focused on trying to get better. And I know when he gets in the gym, it's his safe spot with his teammates and that's what he wants to do."
James, who was ranked the No. 27 overall national prospect in the country by Rivals, finished with 4 points on 1-of-3 shooting, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and a block in his 16 minutes of action.
He looked comfortable on the court and like an immediate asset to the Trojans. Perhaps partly influenced by veteran forward DJ Rodman fouling out of the game with 3:32 remaining, James was on the court in the pivotal final minutes of regulation and through overtime.
"I thought Bronny played well. He defended at a high level, he rebounded, he had 2 steals, 2 assists and made the 3, so I thought he was very solid," Enfield said.
Said veteran guard Boogie Ellis: "He's a high-IQ player. He's a great basketball player, he makes the right play all the time. Everybody wants a guy like that on their team."
James' return to the court was a feel-good moment for all involved, but perhaps the way the game ended took away from Enfield's interest in basking in the sold-out crowd and the spotlight the famous freshman's debut brought to the Trojans.
USC (5-4) had built a 45-30 halftime lead and then let Long Beach State (7-4) whittle it away over the second half.
A bad possession at the end of regulation -- in which USC had to go the length of the court in 3.9 seconds, got the ball into the hands of Ellis, who then passed it to Isaiah Collier for a hurried shot that was blocked -- sent the game to overtime.
"We got Boogie on the run with 3.9 seconds left and I don't know why he didn't take the ball to the basket. I don't know why he passed it. That wasn't designed," Enfield said. "It was for whoever got it on the run to drive it and attack -- and for whatever reason our leading scorer passed the ball with 1 second left and we didn't get a shot off. I'm sure he would want to have that possession back."
Ellis concurred: ""I definitely feel I should have got to the rim, got something better -- that's on me."
The end of overtime was every bit as frustrating. The Trojans never led in the extra period, but they had a chance to tie the game on their final possession with plenty of time on the clock and a timeout to get set up.
Instead, USC ended up settling for a failed Collier layup with under 10 seconds left despite trailing by 3.
"Coach Andy drew up a play and we just didn't get a good look -- we didn't execute it," Ellis said.
Ellis, USC's leading scorer, made just 4 of 14 shots and finished with 14 points, while Collier scored 15 but made just 5 of 12 free throws, and center Vincent Iwuchukwu added 15 points. The Trojans shot just 20 of 36 on free throws.
"I was disappointed in our energy starting the second half. Our starting unit came out and we missed some wide-open shots to start, they were flat on defense and [Long Beach State] just had more energy to start the second half. I didn't understand it because we had a great crowd and we played so energetic in the first half," Enfield said.
Indeed, back to the James' storyline of Sunday, it was the Trojans' first sell-out of the season as students were lined up a long way down the road outside the Galen Center 90 minutes (and probably much longer) before the game.
"Before the game I was saying it felt like a UCLA game," Ellis said.
James checked into the game with 12:58 left in the first half and immediately asserted himself as an active presence on defense. He grabbed a rebound a minute and a half later and took an open 3-pointer -- as the crowd "Ooooooh"ed in anticipation -- but it missed.
The next two times James got the ball on the perimeter with a potential open look, he passed to teammates.
When he checked back in later in the half, he delivered his first highlight on a chase-down block and then fed an assist into the paint to Iwuchukwu for a dunk on an impressive sequence.
James' first college points came with 13:10 left in the second half on a fast-break 3-pointer from the right wing. The smooth shoot brought the crowd to its feet, including his father, who stood up on the sideline to celebrate the moment.
James looked unfazed by the spotlight that followed him Sunday, probably in large part because that spotlight has been following him for years as James' eldest son and a highly-ranked national prospect.
"He's built for it. I feel like he embraces that," Ellis said. "He put in the work and he's a great player. We're going to get him back and he's going to continue to get into the rotation, but he's built for it. He's built for it. He handles it very well."
Said Enfield: "Bronny handles the spotlight extremely well. He's a passionate young man about playing basketball, and I'm not sure what will happen in the future as far as the spotlight as you said, but all I know is he handles it very well."
James grabbed a steal on the defensive end, drew a foul and went to the free throw line with 21 seconds left in regulation, making one of two free throws to push USC's lead to 74-72 before Long Beach State tied it back up in the final seconds.
There's certainly a lot more to say about USC's 5-4 start after being ranked earlier this season -- "We've got to get better. We're not a good team right now," Ellis said -- but the story Sunday really was more about James.
Incredibly, this is the second straight year USC went through the harrowing experience of seeing a freshman collapse on the court during a summer workout due to cardiac arrest. Last year, it was Iwuchukwu, who made his return in January of last season.
So, it was notable that James' first assist went to Iwuchukwu on Sunday.
"It's great to see Bronny out there. He's put a lot of work in the gym to get back to where he was, and unfortunately we both had to go through [that experience], but I know it's made him stronger," Iwuchukwu said.
"[I've been] just giving advice in certain situations, making sure he's feeling all right. I know there's moments where there was a lot going through my mind. Just being able to be there and calm him down, that's really my biggest role. Outside of that, Bronny's done a great job of getting to where he's at within him and his people, so I'm just there to be a good teammate."
In James' case, his family announced in late August, a little more than a month after his July 20 cardiac arrest, that the cause was "an anatomically and functionally significant Congenital Heart Defect, which can and will be treated."
Bronny James has not spoken to media since it happened, but he was brought to the postgame press conference Sunday to make a statement, not taking any questions.
"I just want to say I'm thankful for everything -- the Mayo Clinic, everything they helped me with; my parents, siblings who supported me through this hard time in my life. I just want to give appreciation to everyone who has helped me through this. Also, my coach, my teammates, all my other coaches -- they've been with me since the start," James said.
Enfield wouldn't say what minutes limit James was on Sunday, though he noted it wasn't up to him moving forward what that restriction would be.
Again, fresh off a frustrating loss, Enfield wasn't in the prime mood for reflection and perspective, but he did acknowledge the significance of James' return to the court as the questions continued mounting toward that narrative.
"I think everybody has been through a lot emotionally -- Bronny the most. And he's handled it very well," Enfield said. "Anytime you go through an emotional situation, it's nice to have teammates and a staff that care. His teammates did a great job with Bronny, he's back now and we're all excited for him. ...
"It was exciting for everybody to see him out there, and I'm sure his family was the most excited."
