USF’s Mogbo soars into likely 2nd-rounder
Jonathan Mogbo went to the NBA draft combine in Chicago in May determined to show the league’s talent evaluators that his All-WCC season at USF provided merely a glimpse of his potential.
“It was just a mindset,” Mogbo said in a phone interview with the Chronicle last week. “I can be better than a lot of these guys. I can get my name out there. It’s my time to show them.”
Mogbo must have shown plenty. He hardly registered on mock-draft boards before the combine, but the versatile forward now projects as an early- to mid-secondround choice.
Assuming Mogbo was selected in the first round Wednesday or will be selected in the second round Thursday, he’ll become the first player chosen directly from USF since Quintin Dailey, Wallace Bryant and John Hegwood
were picked in the 10-round, 225-player draft of 1982.
“He bet on himself, and I think that’s a pretty cool thing,” USF head coach Chris Gerlufsen said. “We’re just excited to be a part of his process.”
Mogbo’s collegiate journey to the NBA has taken him all over the country. Lightly recruited out of Forest Hill High in West Palm Beach, Fla., Mogbo spent the 2020-21 season at Independence Community College in Kansas, the 2021-22 season at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (also a community college) and the 2022-23 season at Missouri State before transferring to USF last year.
After averaging eight points and seven rebounds per game with Missouri State, Mogbo averaged a double-double with the Dons, 14.2 points and 10.1 boards. He was named the WCC Newcomer of the Year as he led the conference in rebounding, field-goal percentage (63.6) and steals per game (1.6). He also ranked seventh in assists per game at 3.6.
“It was great,” Mogbo said of his time on the Hilltop. “I went there and I trusted the process. They believed in me. They just gave me the keys.”
Said Gerlufsen: “We started peeling back the layers of the onion and seeing all the different things he could do as a player and how he could affect the game.
“I think he was just really eager to show his full skill set and be in a system that would allow him to have some freedom, play almost positionless basketball, (which) is what it kind of looks like at the next level.”
Listed at 6-foot-6, 217 pounds, Mogbo is springy-quick and has a good feel for the game. He knows the key question about him is whether he can become a consistent shooter. “It’s a work in progress,” he said.
Gerlufsen believes Mogbo’s attitude and motivation will serve him well in the NBA.
“He’s one of the more unselfish kids that I’ve been around,” Gerlufsen said. “When you look at somebody who has as much individual talent as he does, it normally goes the other way. He is selfless.”
Gerlufsen’s Dons unquestionably would be better in 2024-25 if Mogbo had opted to use his final year of eligibility, but Gerlufsen accentuates the positive about Mogbo’s likely entry into the NBA.
“A lot of people have asked, ‘Aren’t you upset that you’re losing him to the NBA draft?’ I’m the exact opposite,” Gerlufsen said. “I couldn’t be more happy for him.
“As for our staff and our program, this is a great look for USF. This is a great recruiting tool for us.”
And though Mogbo wasn’t expected to get chosen until the second round, he relishes the opportunity to compete for a place on an NBA roster.
“Whether it’s the first round, second round, it doesn’t really matter,” Mogbo said. “At the end of the day, everyone has to work for their spot. … I’m going to work hard wherever I get picked, so it’s going to be a blessing.” USF’s draft history:
Guard Jamaree Bouyea, a USF alum, has spent parts of the past two seasons in the NBA, but he was not drafted. … Forward Guy Williams, a second-round selection in 1983, began his college career at USF but played his final two seasons at Washington State.