Andy Enfield’s rebuild of USC took another hit this offseason when Julian Jacobs declared for the NBA Draft, forgoing his final year of eligibility with the Trojans and costing Enfield a shot at having, perhaps, the most explosive backcourt in the country.
As a junior, Jacobs averaged 11.6 points, 5.5 assists, and 4.9 rebounds for USC, helping them to a 21-13 record and an NCAA Tournament berth for the first time in the Enfield era. Over his three years in the Pac-12, Jacobs improved his points and assist numbers every single season.
Still, Jacobs is looked at by most folks as a late, late first-round pick in the best possible scenario, with the most likely scenario landing him in the second-round. Still, with him fully declaring for the Draft, one has to think some team might have made him a promise for the late-first.
Where does USC go from here? Well, it’s not like Enfield has struggled to bring in talent. Guards Jonah Mathews and De’Anthony Melton are both consensus four-star prospects coming out of the high school ranks and will have an opportunity to play off of junior point guard Jordan McLaughlin. Still, it’s hard to replace a player with as much experience and as much explosion as Jacobs, as evidenced here:
Despite not being invited to the NBA Combine, Jacobs snubbed the chance to return to USC, becoming the fifth player to definitively leave the program this offseason–three others elected to transfer. Forward Nikola Jovanovic also declared for the NBA Draft but has yet to make a final decision as to whether or not he will return for school.
