John Mobley Jr. is No. 8 in our Ohio State men's basketball preseason power rankings

Story by

Story by
John Mobley Jr. is No. 8 in our Ohio State men's basketball preseason power rankings

Adam Jardy, Columbus Dispatch · The Columbus Dispatch

Wed, Oct 23, 2024 ·

7 min read

About Our Ads

The first year of the Jake Diebler era will feature the most scholarship players in Ohio State men's basketball history .

Technically, the Buckeyes will feature a full complement of 13 scholarship players for the 2024-25 season. Yet as Ohio State has built its roster for the year and sustained a summer injury to a projected rotation player, first-year coach Jake Diebler was able to add one more piece to the puzzle as a walk-on whose NIL compensation will cover the costs of enrolling at Ohio State.

Projected to finish eighth in the annual unofficial media poll conducted jointly by The Dispatch and The Indianapolis Star , the Buckeyes aim to return to the NCAA Tournament after missing out during each of the last two seasons. Ohio State went 22-14 last season as Diebler was named coach after having taking over midseason on an interim basis.

Sifting through a 16-man roster featuring nine new faces including two walk-ons requires effort, and The Dispatch has you covered. To get ready for the season, The Dispatch is once again rolling out its annual preseason power rankings. Each weekday leading into the Nov. 4 season opener against Texas in Las Vegas , we will count upward while projecting which players will have the biggest roles on the 2023-24 season. This isn't just a measurement of who will lead the team in any particular statistical category, but a series of educated guesses on which players' contributions will go the longest way toward where the Buckeyes finish.

The series continues today with first-year guard John "Juni" Mobley Jr.

No. 8 – John Mobley Jr.

Position: Guard

Eligibility: First year (three remaining)

Height/weight: 6 feet 1 / 175 pounds

Jersey number: 0

Major: Sport industry

Cincinnati Bearcats guard Connor Hickman (8) drives on Ohio State Buckeyes guard John Mobley Jr. (0) in the second half of a basketball scrimmage between Cincinnati Bearcats and Ohio State Buckeyes at Fifth Third Arena in Cincinnati on Friday, Oct. 18, 2024.

John Mobley Jr.'s background

It's been a long journey that has led Mobley back to where his basketball career started. Born in Rochester, New York, Mobley moved to Central Ohio when he was 4 and settled in Reynoldsburg, where he remained until he was preparing for his freshman year of high school. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and unsure if Ohio would have high school basketball that season, Mobley and his family moved to Las Vegas to play for 2020-21.

Nevada wound up cancelling basketball that year, so Mobley's prep career began as a sophomore in 2021-22 at Bishop Gorman. At the end of that season, Mobley landed a scholarship offer from the Buckeyes and called Ohio State his "dream school. " He took official visits to Creighton and Ohio State and also had Arizona State, LSU, USC and Xavier among his list of finalists before he committed to the Buckeyes as the program's first pledge for the 2024 class.

As a sophomore, Mobley helped Bishop Gorman to a 30-1 record and a 5-A state runner-up appearance while averaging 15.5 points, 2.0 assists and 2.0 steals. His production increased during his junior year, finishing with averages of 20.1 points, 4.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.0 steals per game. Following that season, Mobley transferred to Mount Pleasant (Utah) Wasatch Academy and played in the Nike EYBL Scholastic League.

Ohio State Buckeyes: 'Juni' Mobley showcases shooting in workout on eve of Ohio State arrival

Mobley averaged 19.9 points in league play, the second-highest mark in the conference, and finished the year averaging 21.5 points, 5.4 assists, 2.4 rebounds and 2.0 steals per game while Wasatch went 17-7 and earned a No. 8 ranking nationally . During the season, Mobley had a run of five straight games where he scored at least 23 points and averaged 27.0 points and 5.4 assists. Mobley had two efforts of at least 30 points in league play, topping out with 34 against Greenville (South Carolina) Legacy Early College on March 2.

"Juni playing in what is probably the best high school league in the country and having the success that he had this year, that's going to serve us well," Diebler said during the summer.

He also remained committed to Ohio State after coach Chris Holtmann was fired and then publicly reaffirmed his commitment when Diebler was hired .

Mobley was a four-star prospect ranked No. 1 in Utah, the No. 7 combo guard and the No. 48 overall national player in his class according to the final 247Sports.com rankings. The website also named him "The Sniper" in its class superlatives.

What you need to know about John Mobley Jr.

His nickname is "Juni," but Mobley prefers to be referred to by his given name: John Mobley Jr. He changed his hairstyle, going with a new look and shaving most of it off as he got summer workouts underway to indicate that it was the start of a new chapter in his career.

Mobley includes boxing as part of his training regimen. While on an official visit in 2022, Mobley had a conversation with Brice Sensabaugh that helped solidify his decision to become a Buckeye. Former Michigan guard and NBA veteran Trey Burke is among a lengthy list of Central Ohio basketball players who have helped mentor Mobley throughout his development.

"He wakes up at 5 a.m. every morning to work out," Burke said after playing with Mobley during the 2023 Kingdom Summer League. "He works out 2-3 times a day. That (stuff), you get results from that. It's a lot of people that's not doing that. I'm not worried about how well he's going to play at the next level."

He has played in the Kingdom Summer League, where he was given the nickname "Action-Packed. " Diebler was his primary recruiter. Mobley lists First Watch and Hangover Easy as two of his favorite restaurants.

His father, John Mobley Sr., was his first shooting coach. Mobley is a Kansas City Chiefs fan and cites Patrick Mahomes as his favorite player.

Jul 9, 2024; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Jake Diebler defends guard John Mobley Jr. during a summer workout in the practice gym at the Schottenstein Center.

John Mobley's 2024-25 season outlook

Mobley has arrived at Ohio State with a legitimate chance to carve out a role in a crowded, veteran backcourt because of his top skill. Ask just about anyone around the Ohio State program who the team's best shooter is, and Mobley is nearly the unanimous response.

During the preseason, Diebler has described the freshman as a player who has had some "loud" offensive practices.

"It's been fun," Mobley said of the start of the preseason. "Definitely a big difference coming out of high school. High pace, high energy."

The only question is how much Mobley will be forced to adapt to the attention teams figure to pay to him. In Ohio State's 80-62 exhibition loss at No. 20 Cincinnati on Oct. 18 , Mobley checked into the game at Fifth Third Arena as the first substitution and promptly had his first 3-point attempt partially blocked. He finished the game with 8 points on 2-of-7 shooting and had two turnovers in 20:57.

With Bruce Thornton and Meechie Johnson Jr. in line to hold down the majority of the minutes at the guard positions , Mobley has an opportunity to lock down the primary backup role at the point while also establishing himself as a legitimate 3-point shooting threat. That latter point could be of significant importance on a roster that otherwise on paper lacks a true, knockdown shooter.

If Mobley can consistently get his shot off and shoot it at the clip he's shown his coaches and teammates since his arrival, Mobley has as much opportunity to outplay this preseason ranking as anyone on the roster. He could be poised for a breakout year.