4-star guard Silas Demary Jr. asks USC for release: Is Bronny James on the way?

Bronny James #6 of the West team dribbles the ball during the 2023 McDonald’s High School Boys All-American Game at Toyota Center on March 28, 2023 in Houston, Texas. Alex Bierens de Haan/Getty Images/AFP (Photo by Alex Bierens de Haan / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / Getty Images via AFP)

Four-star combo guard Silas Demary Jr. is asking Southern California to release him from his signed national letter of intent, and speculation is that he could be doing so because of the possible pending commitment of Bronny James.

James, the No. 9 combo guard and No. 32 overall player in the nation, as ranked by the 247Sports composite, is the highest prospect at the position in the 2023 class who is uncommitted. Only power forward Mackenzie Mgbako, the No. 7 overall prospect in the class, stands ahead of him as uncommitted.

Mgbako, a five-star prospect, asked Duke to release him from his signed commitment earlier this week.

The 6-foot-4 Demary, who is from North Carolina, is the No. 14 prospect at the position.

247Sports reported Saturday that there is “growing speculation” that coach Andy Enfield and USC could land James. The son of Los Angeles Lakers great LeBron James, he is a senior at Sierra Canyon High School in the L.A. area, and neither father nor son have signaled yet whether the younger James will spend a year in college or play in the NBA G League.

When Demary announced his decision to play at USC last October, he told 247Sports the Trojans offered immediate playing time — and more.

“I would say just the fact I can come in right away and earn minutes,” Demary said. “The second is that they put guys in the NBA, they had a good year last year and if you look at the media market, LA is a hot spot. So being able to go there and being able to pick people’s brains about what I want to do in life beyond basketball, I just felt like it is what was best for me.”

The nation’s No. 1 player, point guard Isaiah Collier from Georgia, is committed to USC.

Guard Boogie Ellis also announced this week that he is returning to the Trojans for his final year of eligibility.

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