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WOW: LeBron James Wanted to Play for Cincinnati Bearcats and Bob Huggins

Wow.

James Rapien

Nov 27, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) smiles
Nov 27, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James (23) smiles / Bill Streicher-USA TODAY Sports

CINCINNATI — LeBron James is one of the greatest basketball players ever. He went from high school straight to the NBA, but the four-time World Champion revealed that there was a time in his life when he wanted to play for the Cincinnati Bearcats.

"I loved Cincinnati," James said on the Mind The Game podcast. "I remember as a kid watching it. When I was growing up I wanted to go to Cincinnati because of the uniforms and because of Huggs."

The 90s and early 2000s Bearcats were one of the coolest teams in college basketball.

James mentioned former Bearcats head coach Bob Huggins. He also talked about Steve Logan, Kenyon Martin, Kenny Satterfield, Demar Johnson and Ruben Patterson.

Obviously James went straight to the NBA. He also mentioned wanting to play for North Carolina as he got older. It is a fun "what if?" and it's a reminder of how the Bearcats were viewed in the late 90s and early 2000s.

Check out the clip below and watch the full discussion here.

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James Rapien
JAMES RAPIEN

James Rapien is the publisher of Bengals, Reds and Bearcats On SI. He graduated from the University of Cincinnati and has spent a decade covering Cincinnati sports. He's the author of Enter The Jungle, a book about the history of the Cincinnati Bengals. Prior to joining SI, Rapien was a host and producer at 700 WLW and ESPN 1530 in Cincinnati.

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