LeBron James wants to suspend his NBA career and finish his academic career while playing basketball at the collegiate level. At the end of the season, James will take his talents to southern California and play for UC Riverside Highlanders. According to a source close to the Miami Heat organization, he has made this statement several times in the past. After a recent loss to the Indiana Pacers, James mentioned that he has been seriously considering stepping down to the college level to get a degree.Lebron will be able to play college ball thanks to an exception passed by the NCAA to allow pro players to play in college for one season, as long as they never played a college game previously. This exception has became known as the Lebron exception. James is eligible because he went pro straight from high school, when he was selected first overall in the 2003 draft by the Cleveland Cavaliers. Had the Lebron exception not been passed, James could not play college ball, since he would be ineligible under the former guidelines.

This news was not received with open arms by his teammates, as well as players around the league. An unknown source reported that teammate Dwyane Wade voiced his displeasure in the Heat locker room, saying that “[he] is making the worst decision of his life.” Head coach Erik Spoelstra spoke out and stated that this is a tough situation for his team to deal with.

James will be coming to visit the UCR campus within the next 2 months. A press conference will be scheduled to be held in the Student Recreation Center. James is currently averaging 26.5 points per game, 8.3 rebounds, 6.5 assists, and 2 steals as member of the Miami Heat. There is speculation among UCR students as how much James will average as a member of UCR.