“There’s no way you're leaving here worse”: Rich Paul subtly deflects blame on coach for not preparing prospects for the NBA

Rich Paul believes Bronny James will dissolve his USC Trojans stint by growing in the competitive NBA landscape. Moreover, he argues that college basketball failed to present the correct opportunity and role for the defensive guard due to its peculiar differences from the big league.

Advocating for accountability against the coaches, Paul highlighted Chris Livingston's journey, who committed to the Kentucky Wildcats as a consensus five-star prospect. However, the athletic 6-foot-7 forward was expected to go undrafted when he leaped for the NBA.

"How is that possible? And who's taking responsibility for that? Someone has to be held accountable," Rich Paul said on Gil's Arena.

"If I was coaching a young man or young woman and when you come in here, my job is to you either leaving here just as good as you did when you came in or better. There's no way you're leaving here worse because I'm taking the responsibility," Paul added. (starts at 15:00)

Despite bringing the hype and potential of becoming an immediate star in college, James was relegated as a regular benchwarmer for Andy Enfield's USC roster. He was given a starting role only six times out of his 25 games.

Even when playing, James had to detour from his usual point role and operate from the wing. Enfield switched between Boogie Ellis and Isaiah Collier for the ball-handling responsibilities.

Bronny James' disappointing USC stint could also be due to his medical situation

Bronny James suffered a cardiac arrest in late July last year. He was immediately hospitalized and had to wait 4 months before he was cleared to play. While the gap was essential for James' well-being, it could be one of the reasons Enfield could not do a better job fitting him into the USC system.

The stretch Bronny James missed is when teams introduce new players with the values, staff and aspirations of the program. It also holds plenty of practices, scrimmages, team building and camaraderie-invoking opportunities, all while the coaching staff strives to find cohesion amongst the unit.

Being a freshman, Bronny James missed each bit of that and was vacuumed into playing Pac-12.

With that, had the 4 month void not emerged, there is a possibility Andy Enfield and Bronny James would have carved out a better season for USC, and possibly a better candidacy narrative for the defensive guard.