In February, Arizona coach Tommy Lloyd confirmed that LeBron James’ youngest son was redshirting his freshman year. He said that he had a “real strong belief” that Bryce James would be a contributor in Tucson “in the near future.” Nine months later, the sophomore guard sat on the bench for 40 minutes in a road win at Auburn.
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Lloyd has now explained the decision, and he said that he wished he had played Bryce.
“Bryce and I had a great conversation,” Lloyd said in a press conference after the 80-69 victory on Friday. “I wish I would have got him in the game. It just got tight there, and we got the lead; it’s just one of those things when you get the lead playing a certain way, sometimes it’s hard to thrust a guy into that moment when he hasn’t been on the court much.”
The decision was a sharp change. Bryce started all six of Arizona’s exhibition games and its first three regular-season games, according to the Arizona Daily Star. Against Auburn, he did not play at all, and neither did backup center Ugnius Jarusevicius, as Lloyd shortened his rotation to eight players.
Lloyd stated that the game mattered more than usual.
“We felt like this was a really important game for our season,” he said. “Not that it’s a must-win situation in game four, but coming here, I’m expecting it to be a quad one win. And this team’s trying to establish its identity and build our confidence, so I tightened the lineup.”
That led to a lineup change as well. JJ Mandaquit started for the first time next to Derek Dixon, and Lloyd used only three bench players: Maxsim Brnovic, freshman guard Cameron Holmes and center Evan Otten.
The Daily Star’s Bruce Pascoe wrote that “the Bryce James experiment appears to be over,” a view based on one game and Lloyd’s choice of a tight rotation. That is an opinion, not something Lloyd has said, and he has not announced any change to Bryce’s role beyond Friday.
Still, the contrast with the past year is notable. Bryce James did not appear in a game as a freshman. Lloyd chose to redshirt him to preserve James’ eligibility and give him time to develop. As Lloyd said last November, “Putting him in the game like this for three minutes burns a year of eligibility.”
The plan was meant to prepare him for a larger role, so a DNP in game four creates questions about where he stands. This is especially true considering how Bryce’s first start went. It had NBA analyst Jason Whitlock fuming.
However, Bryce himself has been patient. In September, he said Lloyd is “all about player development” and does not care if players struggle early. That approach matches how the coach has treated him, but a stretch of games without minutes would test it, especially for a former consensus three-star prospect who had hoped to contribute right away.
The family context also adds pressure. LeBron James is now playing for the 76ers at age 41, and Bryce’s older brother Bronny has been sent to the G League by the Lakers. Both sons have spent their early careers trying to carve out roles away from their father’s name, and any setback is covered more closely than it would be for another player.
For Bryce, the next steps are straightforward. He has a coach who says he regrets not playing him and a team that has plenty of games left. If he gets minutes in the next few contests, Friday will look like a small blip. If not, the question of whether the plan that started with a redshirt year is working will return.