3 players to replace Bronny James at USC in 2024-25 season ft. Desmond Claude

Despite the early indication of Bronny James’ exit from the program, the USC Trojans have distinctly changed coming into the 2024-25 season. Kijani Wright, Oziyah Sellers, Kobe Johnson and Vincent Iwuchukwu have transitioned to separate journeys, while the institution has a new coach, Eric Musselman.

Now, as the former Razorbacks coach brings in 12 new scholarship student-athletes to revamp the program, let’s look at the potential players who could replace James in the lineup.

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Players to replace Bronny James at USC in 2024-25 season

#1 Desmond Claude

NCAA Basketball: Big East Conference Tournament quarterfinal-Connecticut vs Xavier

Even though Bronny James played mostly at the wing, he had all the qualities to be the point on USC. With that, transfer Desmond Claude, a four-star point guard prospect in the 2022 class can fill in.

He averaged 16.6 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.2 assists on 42.6% efficiency last season, while slotting 12 20-point games. The six-foot-six guard already feels that the program is tailor-made for him and has two years of eligibility left.

#2 Saint Thomas

The six-foot-seven Saint Thomas brings a production of 19.7 points, 9.8 rebounds and 4.2 assists at Northern Colorado and experience of more than 70 games. Given the peculiarity in Bronny James' game, Thomas fits in the same role as a glove.

He has great shot mechanics, can score from all three levels, is purposeful with his dribbles, is crafty in lanes and could make the team defensively better.

Moreover, his size enables him to hunt mismatches and to post up or shoot over smaller denfers. However, he has trouble with low-volume shooting and preventing turnovers.

#3 Clark Slajchert

NCAA Basketball: Pennsylvania at West Virginia

Transfer senior guard Clark Slajchert perfectly fits the mold Bronny James left in the Trojans. He's a knockdown 3-point shooter who was second in 3-pointers per game in Ivy League (2.6). Just like Bronny, Slajchert could be a solid depth piece in USC’s roster.

Apart from draining threes of the catch or bounce, the six-foot-one Los Angeles native has all the necessary skills of a point. In the Ivy League, Slajchert ranked third in points (18), 11th in assists (2.9) and 12th in steals (1.2). He also had 3 30-point games and 10 10-point games.