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Ohm Youngmisuk, ESPN Staff Writer
LOS ANGELES — USC freshman Bronny James was a limited participant at practice on Monday and is awaiting clearance for full-contact practice.
James, the eldest son of Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James, was cleared by doctors to return to basketball last Thursday, just over four months after he suffered cardiac arrest at a summer workout.
A James family spokesperson said in a statement that the freshman guard would have a final evaluation with USC staff with the plan to resume practicing sometime this week and a “return to games soon after.”
“Bronny has not been cleared fully yet from USC,” Trojans coach Andy Enfield told ESPN on Monday night after practice. “He can participate without contact. He’s done a good job of getting his conditioning and his strength back and I think he’s on the path to being ready to play very quickly.”
James, 19, suffered cardiac arrest on July 24 during a USC practice and was hospitalized for three days in Los Angeles. He underwent a procedure to treat a congenital heart defect.
USC’s next full-contact practice is scheduled for Thursday. The Trojans’ next game is against Long Beach State at home on Sunday.
“We hope to get Bronny on the court as soon as possible,” Enfield said. “The heart specialist, the doctors at USC, those are people that have to give the approval [to clear James for full-contact practice] and I know they’re working diligently on the whole process. I commend them for all they’ve done as part of this.”
James has been able to go through five-on-zero noncontact work, shooting and individual drills thus far. He also has participated in pregame warmups with the team.
“Everybody’s excited to see Bronny on the court,” Enfield said. “The fans, teammates, everybody around our program and university. Bronny’s done a great job of mentally and physically getting back to this point and I think he’s very anxious to get back full-time playing. We’re excited to watch him play.”