Max Kellerman hit the nail on the head Monday morning on ESPN Radio when he talked about the power structure of college sports in LA. If you’re talking about football, it’s USC. If it’s basketball, you’re talking about UCLA. His partner Jay Williams thinks there is a chance that could change next year.
Over the weekend, LeBron James’s son Bronny announced he would play for the Trojans next season. While Bronny isn’t the phenom his father was in high school, he is still a highly touted prospect. His commitment to USC follows a commitment from the top high school basketball prospect in the country, Isiah Collier.
“I’m getting ready for college ball next year, baby! We’re making a lot of trips to LA. Here we come!” Williams said Monday on Keyshawn, JWill & Max.
Bronny James is bringing serious star power that ESPN will want to take advantage of in the final year of its current rights deal with the Pac-12, and Bristol won’t be the only ones. CBS and FOX will almost certainly figure out what games they can put on their airwaves next season too.
Jay Williams expects the media phenomenon to mirror something we saw during the 2018-2019 season at his alma mater, Duke.
“This is about to be Zion Williamson 2.0 in LA.” He said. “Zion Williamson 2.0 in LA with the way networks are gonna follow Bronny James and Isiah together.”
During Williamson’s one season in Durham, Duke was part of all of ESPN’s most-watched games. He was also credited by Forbes as a reason for rising ratings for the 2019 NCAA Tournament.
Keyshawn Johnson played football at USC for two seasons before becoming the top pick of the 1996 NFL Draft. He joked that USC rarely fills up its basketball stadium for home games. Maybe now, that will change. He even said he could see himself leading the charge.
“I’ll even go to a game now!” he joked.
