USC freshman Bronny James rushed to hospital after cardiac arrest
For the second year in a row, the USC men's basketball program saw one of its top freshmen rushed to the hospital after suffering a cardiac arrest emergency during a summer workout at Galen Center.
Bronny James, the four-star freshman guard and son of NBA legend LeBron James, collapsed on the court Monday morning and was taken to an unnamed hospital, per an initial report by TMZ.com and further reporting by The Athletic's Shams Charania and other outlets.
The 911 call was made around 9:30 a.m. PT Monday with James reportedly unconscious upon ambulance arrival, but per Charania, he is now in stable condition and no longer in the ICU.
"Yesterday while practicing Bronny James suffered a cardiac arrest," a James family spokesperson said in a statement to Charania and ESPN.com. "Medical staff was able to treat Bronny and take him to the hospital. He is now in stable condition and no longer in ICU. We ask for respect and privacy for the James family and we will update media when there is more information. LeBron and Savannah wish to publicly send their deepest thanks and appreciation to the USC medical and athletic staff for their incredible work and dedication to the safety of their athletes."
USC experienced a similar scare in July 2022 when five-star center Vincent Iwuchukwu went into cardiac arrest during a summer workout at Galen Center and was taken to the hospital.
In Iwuchukwu's case, he was conscious before being placed into the ambulance. USC's training staff -- specifically associate athletic trainer Jon Yonamine -- was heralded for its collective response in Iwuchukwu's case. USC women's volleyball trainer Lauren Crawford and women's basketball trainer Erin Tillman assisted in that situation.
"He's been amazing in all aspects of his job, and in this case performing life-saving CPR," USC basketball coach Andy Enfield said of Yonamine last February. "... And this was under the utmost incredible pressure because it was a life or death situation."
"Thank God for the training staff here, the coaches, I'm here talking to you guys now," Iwuchukwu said in February while reflecting in-depth on the harrowing experience.
Incredibly, Iwuchukwu returned to the basketball court and played in 14 games last season for the Trojans, averaging 13.8 minutes and 5.4 points per game. His heart rate was consistently monitored on an iPad by strength and conditioning coach Kurtis Shultz on the sideline throughout all activity and his playing time was limited out of precaution.
Recently, USC associate head coach Chris Capko told the Trojan Talk podcast about what it was like watching Iwuchukwu return to action with the memory of his cardiac arrest still fresh in everyone's memory.
"The first couple games, man, we'd see him breathe hard and all of us would look at each other like, 'Man, is he OK?' We were all there with him that day. It was scary, man -- that's the scariest thing I've ever seen on the floor. It was definitely a moment that's seared into our minds," Capko said.
Capko also talked about how James, the No. 27-ranked national prospect, from local Sierra Canyon High School, had assimilated quickly into the team this summer.
"He just shows up trying to work. There's no extra to him. He doesn't show up wanting a lot of attention. He shows up everyday on time ready to work," Capko said. '... Bronny has just come in and played hard, defended, been coachable and make shots when he's open. He hasn't really done anything outside of his skill set or tried to do things that he's probably not great at right now, which is a skill in and of itself.
"He's been great. We've been super happy with him. I know all his teammates really like him. He's fit in like a glove."
Where James' basketball career goes from here now depends on the advice and clearance of doctors and the specific cause of his cardiac arrest.
In the case of Iwuchukwu, he explained his situation this way: "Just ran a lot of tests, did a lot of tests and they just said it was an event that, almost like [Buffalo Bills safety] Damar Hamlin's, it's just a freak accident."
The Trojans are scheduled to go on an overseas exhibition trip Aug. 5-15 in Greece and Croatia.
Check back for more updates.