Recruiting Report: Isaiah Mobley (2019)
There are some heavy expectations following the Rancho Christian boys basketball team.
With the CIF Southern Section Open Division field cut to eight teams, down from 16 the last two seasons, the Eagles are projected as a squad that could crack that prestigious playoff grouping.
The anticipation is weighing most heavy on the shoulders of junior forward Isaiah Mobley, who in his third year as the leader of the Eagles, has to be the engine that makes this team go.
“I’m trying to get my body right,” he told Prep Hoops So-Cal of what he’s been working on. “I need to get cut up and strong, better speed and jumping higher, all of that.”
Mobley is acclaimed for his versatile inside-out offensive repertoire, which is why he’s continuing to tighten up the fundamental aspects of his game.
“I’ve been better than normal from the free throw line and I’ve been working on that a lot,” Mobley said. “My passing is getting better, especially when I get doubled in the post. My skip passes are hitting open guys.”
The open guys that Mobley is referring to are the ones who will — potentially — help shoot Rancho Christian into the top eight of Southern Section teams.
Seniors Isaiah Knox and Trace Redfield have been the beneficiaries of those passes as they’ve gotten tons of open looks from 3-point range over the first three weeks of The LEAGUE fall hoops action.
“Them hitting three’s helps a lot because it takes a lot of pressure off of me,” Mobley said. “They’re a real strength for our team.”
Rancho Christian forward Isaiah Mobley is the definitive leader of an Eagles squad with the potential of making the CIF-SS Open Division playoffs.Mobley said the high level of fall ball competition has also exposed some weaknesses that need to be reinforced before the season begins.
“For us, we’re learning some of the defenses that work and don’t work,” he said. “We also learned some tweaks we need to make offensively and how to recognize when to make those changes in the game.”
We’ve seen the strengths and weaknesses of our guys and noticed some scheme things we could change,” he added. “I think we struggle against more athletic teams, but we’re working that out.”
In regard to his recruitment, the skilled 6-foot-9 junior mentioned that he has earned around 23 or 24 scholarship offers to date, but he’s stopped counting.
“It picked up a lot after the Ron Massey (fall) tournament,” Mobley said. “I thought I had decent summer, personally, but could have played better.
“We’ve had a bunch of head coaches out at our gym,” he added. “(Steve) Alford, (John) Beilein, Oregon’s coaches are coming soon and Virginia is texting me. It’s all over. It’s very exciting.”
Mobley has a clear idea of what he is looking for in a school and, unlike some other SoCal natives, he’s not particular about location.
“I’m looking for a good academic school with integrity with all of the (FBI scandal) stuff going on,” he said. “I’m not picky about weather, staying home or going away. I’m open to just about anyone.”