If you are a follower of all things basketball and/or all things Lebron James you may have already seen his son Bronny James at the NBA Draft Combine. On Monday Bronny showed a pretty deft touch from the three point line while working with a HBCU coach recently selected to assist with the Chicago event this week.
James finished his shooting drill going 19 of 25 from behind the line. Granted there’s no defense, but he was on the move which introduces fatigue and he still showed an impressive touch.
One of the coaches involved in the drill, and feeding the ball to James was the head women’s basketball coach at Winston-Salem State University, and a former point guard herself, L’Tona Samuels Lamonte. She can be seen in the video passing the ball to James as he rotated along the three-point line, and her voice can be heard as one of his loudest supporters as he continued to drain shots.
At the conclusion of the drill, Lamonte was the first coach to dap up James as he walked off the floor. Lamonte along with WSSU head men’s coach Cleo Hill Jr. and strength and conditioning coach Kerry Harbor were selected to work at the combine earlier this month.
All Star Relationships
“I think it’s a great honor and a blessing to be invited by the NBA to be a part of their draft combine,” said Lamonte. “What a great way to go and learn more about our craft from the highest level, and bring that knowledge back to our athletes, the university, and the CIAA. I think Coach Cleo, his staff, our Men’s Basketball team, and Virginia Union were a great representation for our conference and have opened the door for this wonderful partnership.”
Winston-Salem State and Virginia Union played in the third annual NBA HBCU Classic at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis during NBA All-Star Weekend. The game was a great relationship builder between the two schools and the league. Virginia Union University’s Tierra Terry, the head coach of the VUU women’s basketball team, and Jay Butler, head coach of the VUU men’s basketball team are working the combine as well.
Lamonte’s role during the combine is to work all of the on court sessions and she was front and center during the action on Monday with James. Coaches from both of these HBCU institutions see the great opportunity that working at the combine offers.
“This is a great opportunity to attend the NBA combine and work with professional coaches to help young men prepare for the next chapter in their life of playing professional basketball,” said Butler. “I can’t thank the NBA enough for allowing our Virginia Union Men the opportunity to play on All-Star Weekend and now giving me the chance to attend the NBA Combine in the same year.”
Business will pick up with Bronny on Tuesday
Back to Bronny James. What made more news than his shooting was the report that James was medically cleared to be drafted in the NBA. Nine months ago James suffered cardiac arrest and had a procedure to repair a congenital heart defect. After being sidelined for several months James finished his freshman season at USC averaging 4.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists in 19.4 minutes per game.
There’s been widespread speculation that if a team were to draft Bronny James, they could also land the services of his father, the all-time leading scorer in NBA history.
The world will get to see how well James stacks up against other NBA prospects on Tuesday when he competes in five on five action.
Update from Coach Lamonte
After this article was published and once the NBA Combine wrapped up, Lamonte posted a quote about the experience she had.
“What an amazing opportunity to be able to work the NBA Combine. Not in a million years would i have ever dreamed of this opportunity. God can blow your mind when you listen and do his will and get out your own way. I have to thank the NBA for this opportunity. These 5 days were Awesome and the networking, friendships, and laughs were a blast. From what I’ve been told i went viral,” wrote Lamonte.