Ranking the 7 options for class of 2022 and top-10 prospect F Kijani Wright
By Ian Mumm
USC Trojans
Andy Enfield was fortunate last season to feature not one, but two Mobleys on his team in 2020. Younger brother Evan joined Isaiah on the team over the offseason and the two helped lead the Trojans to a 25-8 record and an Elite 8 appearance. The result was the best of Enfield’s career at Southern Cal and a testament to his consistency with the program since elevating it from the depth’s of the Pac-12 conference.
His success has come from strong on-court strategy, but also prioritizing the hotbed of talent in his immediate backyard of Los Angeles and surrounding areas: 10 of the team’s 17 players on last season’s roster came from this area of the state.
Currently, three players reside in the top-10 rankings of the 2022 class from the greater Los Angeles area and Enfield has a firm understanding that if he doesn’t keep the city’s talent “home” they will be picked up by other programs and used against him. With the likelihood that both Mobley brothers will enter and stay in the NBA Draft pool high, Enfield has to turn his sights towards rebuilding the frontcourt with elite talent.
The remaining frontcourt talent for USC has not received many opportunities to prove themselves behind the two aforementioned stars and will hope to make a strong impression next season. However, finding a way to dip back into the endless pool of talent offered by the Compton Magic is a smart path for Enfield to pursue. It has already paid dividends for him with the Mobleys and Onyeka Okongwu.
Adding Wright will replicate a lot of the versatile production each of these players has provided in a Trojan uniform. It’s a surefire path to success if Enfield can pull it off for the 3rd time.