Evan Mobley describes himself as mellow. USC’s 7-foot freshman center rarely shows much emotion on a basketball court, and in interviews never varies from his standard monotone.
But as this past weekend in Las Vegas showed, Mobley knows when he needs to ramp up his intensity, even if his face doesn’t reflect it. In two games at the Pac-12 Tournament, Mobley posted identical 26-point, nine-rebound, five-block stat lines.
And with the Trojans now turning to the NCAA Tournament, their opener scheduled for Saturday against the winner of Wichita State-Drake, the Pac-12 player of the year understands his responsibility.
“I just know it’s a big stage and big players have to step up to the challenge,” Mobley said. “So I just try to step up to the challenge, do everything I possibly could to help my team win. Every game, from now on especially, could be our last game and I’m gonna treat it that way and really just try to go all out.”
There were games earlier in the season where it appeared that Mobley didn’t have that sense of urgency. Some first halves you could be forgiven for not noticing that Mobley was even on the court.
And it looked like things might trend that same direction in the Pac-12 Tournament opener, when Mobley only scored two points while spending 13 minutes on the bench with foul trouble against Utah.
But the freshman made sure that would not be the case, first by driving down the baseline for a one-handed dunk and then settling in, drawing fouls and knocking down mid-range jumpers to lead USC to an overtime victory.
“I think he’s just been ultra-aggressive,” guard Tahj Eaddy said, noting teams have tried to limit Mobley’s opportunities at the rim. “I think he’s just taken what the defenses have given him instead of trying to predetermine what he’s going to do. I think he’s just playing with great flow and we need him to be ultra-aggressive like this every night.”
Then in the semifinal game against Colorado, Mobley did what a team’s best player is expected to do.
Eight minutes into the second half, head coach Andy Enfield went to Mobley and asked if the big man needed a break. Mobley said no, and proceeded to play the entire second half, and 39 of 40 minutes in total.
“We are going to need him to play at this level starting at the end of this week,” Enfield said.
We all know what comes next for Mobley after his freshman season ends: A high selection in the NBA Draft, and the stardom and riches that come with it.
Mobley says he ignores any media debates about his draft status, wanting to avoid a potential distraction. He wants to stay focused on the here and now, and that means helping the Trojans make a tournament run.
“My whole goal was to win games, get as far as possible in everything that we do,” Mobley said. “We had a great season so far and we just want to try to continue it.”
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