High School

Bryce James struggling to make his mark at Nike Peach Jam

Sierra Canyon shooting guard is looking to find his shot with his Strive for Unity (CA) AAU squad

Gary Adornato

Bryce James (5), son of basketball star LeBron James, shoots a free throw during the Strive for Greatness (SFG) and Arizona Unity game at the Nike Peach Jam at Riverview Park Activities Center. SFG won 68-66.
Bryce James (5), son of basketball star LeBron James, shoots a free throw during the Strive for Greatness (SFG) and Arizona Unity game at the Nike Peach Jam at Riverview Park Activities Center. SFG won 68-66. / Katie Goodale / USA TODAY NETWORK

Big time competition is nothing new for Bryce James, son of NBA legend LeBron James and the brother of Bronny James, a rookie with the NBA's Los Angeles Lakers. The pickup games in the backyard alone would sharpen any player.

Bryce James is in South Augusta, South Carolina this week competing with his Strive for Unity (SFG) AAU team at the Nike Peach Jam, looking improve his game against some of the best national talent that can be assembled at a single event.

James who returned to California's Sierra Canyon after briefly transferring to Campbell Hall High School in Los Angeles is entering his senior high school season. He is considered a 3-star recruit by 247Sports and ranked the No. 148 prospect in the country. He has grown to 6-fee-6 and 180 pounds and currently has offers from Ohio State and Duquesne.

Events like the Nike Peach Jam are important recruiting showcases and thus far James' performance has been mixed.

He scored 12 points in SFG's loss to Nightrydas Elite (FL) last week, but is averaging just 6.3 points per game through four contests, despite averaging 24.3 minutes per game. As a shooting guard, three-point shooting is imporant, but James has struggled from beyond the arc so far, hitting just two of 12 attempts (16.7%). From the filed he is shooting 33%, hitting 10 of 30 shots and he is connecting on only 50% of his free throw attempts.

In addition, James has not recorded an assist thus far and is averaging three rebounds per game. He has blocked four shots.

Bryce James
Bryce James (5), son of basketball star LeBron James, slides into the coaches section during the Strive for Greatness (SFG) and Arizona Unity game at the Nike Peach Jam at Riverview Park Activities Center. SFG won 68-66. / Katie Goodale / USA TODAY NETWORK

James still has time to make his mark. He and SFG play their final Pool A contest at the Riverview Activities Center on Friday evening at 6:00 p.m. against Boo Williams (VA).

A scouting report of Bryce James classifies him as a "late bloomer." He split his sophomore season between the varsity and JV and as a junior, on a stacked Sierra Canyon squad, he came off the bench. Despite his struggles thus far at the Peach Jam, he is projected as a good shooter who can finish off the dribble. The belief is that his results will improve as he gets more comfortable in his growing body.

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Gary Adornato
GARY ADORNATO

Gary Adornato began covering high school sports with the Baltimore Sun in 1982, while still a mass communications major at Towson University, and in 2003 became one of the first journalists to cover high school sports online while operating MIAASports.com, the official website of the Maryland Interscholastic Athletic Association. Later, Adornato pioneered market-wide coverage of high school sports with DigitalSports.com, introducing video highlights and player interviews while assembling an award-winning editorial staff. In 2010, he launched VarsitySportsNetwork.com which became the premier source of high school media coverage in the state of Maryland. In 2022, he sold VSN to The Baltimore Banner and joined SBLive Sports as the company's East Coast Managing Editor.

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