Note #065: John Mobley Jr. (Buckeye Benchmarks)
Ohio State guard John Mobley Jr. is building toward what could be a plentiful junior 2026-27 season with the Buckeyes.
In 2025-26, as a sophomore, Mobley Jr. met the moment with this per game power (in 31 GP, 31.6 MP/G):
- 15.7 PPG
- 2.4 RPG
- 2.8 APG
- 0.7 SPG
Since 1947-48, there have been just seven Big Ten sophomores, besides Mobley Jr., to average 15.5+ PPG, 2+ RPG, 2.5+ APG, 0.5+ SPG in 32 MP/G or less (min. 30 GP):
15.5-17 PPG
1. Zoom Diallo (2025-26) - 15.7 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 4.5 APG, 0.7 SPG (33 GP, 29.6 MP/G)
2. Luke Recker (1998-99) - 16.1 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.7 SPG (34 GP, 31.8 MP/G)
17-18 PPG
3. Miles Bridges (2017-18) - 17.1 PPG, 7.0 RPG, 2.7 APG, 0.6 SPG (34 GP, 31.4 MP/G)
4. Voshon Leonard (1992-93) - 17.1 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 2.6 APG, 1.6 SPG (31 GP, 28.5 MP/G)
5. Jaden Ivey (2021-22) - 17.3 PPG, 4.9 RPG, 3.1 APG, 0.9 SPG (36 GP, 31.4 MP/G)
18+ PPG
6. Carsen Edwards (2017-18) - 18.5 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 2.8 APG, 1.1 SPG (37 GP, 29.5 MP/G)
7. Chris Webber (1992-93) - 19.2 PPG, 10.1 RPG!, 2.5 APG, 1.4 SPG (36 GP, 31.6 MP/G)
In 2025-26, there were six sophomores, besides Mobley Jr. and Diallo (Washington), to meet the criteria above (all conferences included):
15.5-16 PPG
1. Caleb Williams - 15.6 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 3.1 APG, 0.6 SPG (32 GP, 31.6 MP/G)
2. Jurian Dixon - 15.9 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 2.5 APG, 1.1 SPG (35 GP, 30.4 MP/G)
16-17.5 PPG
3. Jaquan Johnson - 16.9 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 3.6 APG, 2.5 SPG (34 GP, 30.4 MP/G)
4. Del Jones - 17.2 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 3.5 APG, 0.9 SPG (32 GP, 31.7 MP/G)
17.5-20 PPG
5. Nolan Minessale - 19.8 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 4.3 APG, 1.6 SPG (34 GP, 31.1 MP/G)
20+ PPG
6. Labaron Philon - 22.0 PPG, 3.5 RPG, 5.0 APG, 1.2 SPG (33 GP, 30.9 MP/G)
Diallo deals in Note #025 on Villanova's Elijah Crawford, too.
Webber is just warming up:
Note #002 (Flory Bidunga) / Note #048 (Rafael Castro) / Note #052 (Jayden Quaintance)
58/123 2P/2PA (47.2 2P%)
97/236 3P/3PA (41.1 3P%)
79/91 FT/FTA (86.8 FT%)
Since the 1980-81 season, only two NCAA DI men's players besides Mobley Jr. recorded 47+ 2P% (min. 120 2PA), 41+ 3P% (min. 235 3PA), 86.5+ FT% (min. 90 FTA) in their sophomore year:
1. Terrell Gomez (2018-19) - 97/197 2P/2PA (49.2%), 117/279 3P/3PA (41.9%), 107/122 FT/FTA (87.7%)
2. Stephen Curry (2007-08) - 155/287 2P/2PA (54.0%!), 162/369 3P/3PA (43.9%!), 135/151 FT/FTA (89.4%)
And one Big Ten player, other than Mobley Jr., has met the above:
Shawn Respert (1994-95) - 110/233 2P/2PA (47.2%), 119/251 3P/3PA (47.4%), 139/160 FT/FTA (86.9%)
Respert, a senior at Michigan State in 1994-95, was the 8th overall pick in the 1995 NBA Draft.
Now, if we completely remove the 2-point thresholds, two more sophomores (all conferences) appear:
1. Tyler Harvey (2013-14) - 109/252 3P/3PA (43.3%), 156/174 FT/FTA (89.7%)
2. Fletcher Magee (2016-17) - 112/265 3P/3PA (42.3%), 109/122 FT/FTA (89.3%)
Magee also hit Mobley Jr.'s above 2P/3P/FT split set (twice!), but in his junior and senior seasons:
2017-18 - 105/186 2P/2PA (56.5%), 148/337 3P/3PA (43.9%), 97/107 FT/FTA (90.7%)
2018-19 - 67/136 2P/2PA (49.3%), 158/377 3P/3PA (41.9%), 101/111 FT/FTA (91.0%)
Respert has Meleek Thomas's respect in Note #041.
Harvey, harvesting:
Note #050 (Ryan Conwell) / Note #063 (Tahaad Pettiford)
Magee is also in the Conwell Note, but debuted in Note #028 on top 20 2026 NBA Draft pick Christian Anderson.
Anyway, in 2024-25 as a freshman in Columbus, Mobley Jr. mustered this per game:
13.0 PPG, 1.5 RPG, 2.2 APG, 0.7 SPG (32 GP, 27.8 MP/G)
Only one other NCAA DI freshman in 2024-25 hit 13+ PPG, 1.5+ RPG, 2+ APG, 0.5+ SPG in 28 MP/G or less (and he's from the Big Ten):
Tomislav Ivisic - 13.0 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 2.3 APG, 0.6 SPG (32 GP, 26.8 MP/G)
FWIW, Ivisic is a 7'1" center (Mobley Jr. a 6'1" guard).
Since 1947-48, one Big Ten freshman besides Mobley Jr. and Ivisic qualified for the above criteria (min. 30 GP):
Ricky Davis (1997-98) - 15.0 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 2.4 APG, 1.2 SPG (31 GP, 26.6 MP/G)
If we remove the GP floor, three more Big Ten freshmen enter:
1. Alijah Arenas (2025-26) - 14.1 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 2.1 APG, 0.9 SPG (14 GP, 27.6 MP/G)
2. Jess Settles (1993-94) - 15.3 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 2.3 APG, 1.5 SPG (27 GP, 27.3 MP/G)
3. Jay Edwards (1987-88) - 15.6 PPG, 2.2 RPG, 3.2 APG, 0.7 SPG (23 GP, 26.0 MP/G)
Arenas, who missed a large portion of 2025-26 due to injury, is returning to USC for his sophomore 2026-27 season (the Trojans have some serious talent, including UConn transfer Eric Reibe).
Lastly, Mobley Jr.'s freshman shooting splits:
55/139 2P/2PA (39.6 2P%)
77/200 3P/3PA (38.5 3P%)
75/85 FT/FTA (88.2 FT%)
Five players since 1980-81, including Mobley Jr., shot 39.5+ 2P% (min. 135 2PA), 38.5+ 3P% (min. 200 3PA), 88+ FT% (min. 85 FTA) in their freshman season. The four others (sorted by FGA, ascending):
1. Schadrac Casimir (2014-15) - 62/143 2P/2PA (43.4%), 94/222 3P/3PA (42.3%), 102/114 FT/FTA (89.5%)
2. Kon Knueppel (2024-25) - 97/171 2P/2PA (56.7%), 84/207 3P/3PA (40.6%), 117/128 FT/FTA (91.4%!)
3. Jared McCain (2023-24) - 88/169 2P/2PA (52.1%), 87/210 3P/3PA (41.4%), 77/87 FT/FTA (88.5%)
4. Cameron Healy (2018-19) - 62/142 2P/2PA (43.7%), 104/251 3P/3PA (41.4%), 76/86 FT/FTA (88.4%)
Knueppel and McCain, both first round NBA Draft picks, did the above in back-to-back years at Duke!
Settles, well, settled in nicely to Note #031 on Providence-to-Missouri transfer Jamier Jones.
Knueppel's connected to Note #055 (Mikel Brown Jr.) and Note #063 (Tahaad Pettiford) as well.
Statistics via Sports Reference
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