USC center Evan Mobley declares for NBA draft

After one historic season at USC, center Evan Mobley is moving on to the NBA.

The freshman announced his decision to enter the NBA draft Friday morning, adding on Twitter, “LEAGUE BOUND! I’ve dreamed about turning pro since I was a kid.”

Mobley is projected to be high lottery pick, perhaps even going as early as the top two picks.

Mobley arrived at USC with exceedingly high expectations out of Rancho Christian High in Temecula. He was a McDonald’s All-American and considered by many analysts to the be either the No. 1 or 2 prospect in the 2020 high school class.

The 7-foot freshman played up to the hype in his lone season of college. He led USC in scoring (16.7), rebounding (8.7) and blocked shots (2.9) while shooting 57.8% from the floor. He also proved to be a capable passer out of the post, finding the open man on the perimeter when he was doubled or making an interior pass to his older brother, Isaiah, for an easy layup.

For much of the regular season, it appeared Mobley was playing tentatively during stretches, not ready to take over a game from tipoff to final buzzer. But when the calendar hit the postseason, he showed he was ready, posting identical 26-point, nine-rebound, five-block performances in two Pac-12 tournament games.

After the regular season, Mobley was named the Pac-12’s Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year, joining Anthony Davis as the only major-conference players to ever win all three awards in the same season.

Mobley’s success led to team success as well. USC came within percentage points of its first regular-season conference championship in 36 years. And the Trojans advanced to the Elite Eight for the fourth time in their history and first since 2001.

Mobley scored 17 points in the NCAA Tournament opener against Drake but just 10 in each of the Trojans’ next two wins, instead moving to more of a distributor role with 11 total assists against Kansas and Oregon.

“When your most talented offensive player is your most unselfish and willing passer, you can win a lot of games like that,” USC head coach Andy Enfield said at the time.

The Trojans did just that, and with that job accomplished, Mobley could become the highest-drafted player in USC history. O.J. Mayo was selected third overall in 2008 by the Memphis Grizzlies.

This post first appeared on ocregister.com

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