Texas may have the three most famous amateur athletes in America on campus in a couple years, after recent speculations of LeBron (Bronny) James Jr. having interest in Texas’ basketball program.
The other two athletes would be current Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers, who held the highest rating possible for a recruit, and 2023 five-star quarterback Arch Manning, who has shown no signs of being deterred by the presence of Ewers at Texas.
James is a junior in high school and currently plays at Los Angeles powerhouse Sierra Canyon as as combo guard. He is rated a four-star prospect and the No. 38 player in the nation according to 247Sports’ composite rankings.
He is also the son of NBA legend and current Los Angeles Laker, LeBron James. Manning on the other hand is from football royalty, as his grandfather Archie and his two uncles, Peyton and Eli, were NFL quarterbacks.
Both James and Manning have held very private recruitments, but there has been speculation and evidence that Texas is in the mix for both. Manning’s recruitment has been a tad more public as he has spoken about Texas to the media, and even visited the campus, but James does not speak with the media.
In a recent article by 247Sports’ Eric Bossi, James’ skillset and recruitment was broken down.
James has really started to mature physically and is starting to come into his own as a player. His jump shot looks good, he has deep range, he handles well enough to play some minutes at point and maybe the most pleasant development so far is how he is turning into a big time defender
He’s still basically off limits to the media and hasn’t put out a school list, but some of the teams that he is believed to have interest in include Duke, Ohio State, Tennessee and Texas among others.
It is still unknown if James will go to college or if he will go a different route like the G-League, but early interest in Texas could be a great sign for Chris Beard and his staff who have been hitting the recruiting trail hard.
Texas currently has two five-stars committed in their 2022 class, but have yet to nab a 2023 commitment. James is similar to both Ewers and Manning, in that wherever he goes not only will the national spotlight follow, but other top talent will as well.
In just a couple years, Texas’ football or basketball games could have the Manning family along with LeBron James on the sidelines.