NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Look at 2019 classes for each California school

Examining USC’s mega recruiting class

The Trojans have a chance to be nationally relevant again after amassing the sixth-ranked recruiting class this past offseason. They bring in two five-star players in Isaiah Mobley and Onyeka Okongwu, while Max Agbonkpolo is a four-star recruit with plenty of potential.

Mobley is a 6’9” McDonald’s All-American who will slot in at the four for the Trojans. Despite USC’s recent run of mediocre seasons, it wasn’t a huge shock when Mobley committed to USC. His father, Eric, is the associate head coach. He’s ranked in the top 20 nationally and for good reason. He’s got good enough size to be an effective post in the college game, while also possessing a solid jumper and good defensive ability.

Okongwu, despite being slightly shorter than Mobley, has more bulk and will play the five. He’s the fourth-best center in the nation and a top-25 player overall. He may not be a towering 7-footer, but the Chino product is no slouch when it comes to defending the rim. Okongwu isn’t the most gifted offensive player yet, but he shouldn’t be a liability, either. Regardless of what he provides on that end of the court, he and Mobley should make it very difficult for opponents to score on the interior.

Agbonkpolo may not grab as many headlines as his new teammates, but he might have just as much upside. He’s not the most polished product just yet, but he can be a solid defender on the wings and in the post. At 6’8” and 180 pounds, he might do well to add some weight if he wants to make it at the next level. But he may actually be a perfect piece for USC, since Mobley and Okongwu already provide that size. A more important development at this stage would be for him to become a more consistent shooter.

Aside from these blue chips, the Trojans will also be making some freshman additions in the backcourt. The headliner here is three-star recruit Kyle Sturdivant, the 13th-best point guard in the 2019 class. In addition, Enfield has hard commitments out of two more three-stars in Drake London, a 6’4” shooting guard, and Ethan Anderson, another point guard and a hometown product.

But it’s not just freshmen coming into the fold. USC has also been active in the transfer portal, grabbing two solid players in Daniel Utomi and Quinton Adlesh. A 6’6” wing, Utomi starred for Akron, scoring over 1,000 points in the past two seasons. Adlesh comes back to his home state after four years at Columbia. He has a good three-point shot (career 40.5% from downtown) and will bring experience to the point guard position for the Trojans.

Put it all together and you’ve got to think that anything less than an NCAA berth will be a huge disappointment for USC. But bringing in talent is only half of the battle – getting that talent to work together is another story.