Evan Mobley arrived at USC on a wave of hype and expectations as a 5-star top national recruit while spending the last several months proving exactly why.
And on Tuesday, the Trojans' star 7-foot freshman was rewarded in a big way, being named Pac-12 Player of the Year, Freshman of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.
USC's Andy Enfield was named the Pac-12 Coach of the Year, and veteran guard Tahj Eaddy was a second-team all-conference selection.
As for Mobley, he ranks seventh in the conference in scoring (team-high 16.1 points per game), first in rebounding (8.6 per game), first in blocks (2.85 per game, more than a block a game better than any other Pac-12 player) and third in field-goal percentage (.582) while tallying a league-best 10 double-doubles and leading a Trojans team that was picked sixth in the preseason Pac-12 poll to a second-place finish in the standings.
Mobley also leads USC in minutes played at 33.6 per game, underscoring his essential value to this 21-6 (15-5 Pac-12) Trojans team.
Mobley becomes the first player in Pac-12 history and just the second major conference player after Kentucky's Anthony Davis (2011-12) to sweep the trio of Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year. He also is only the second to win both league Defensive Player and Freshman of the Year in the same season, joining Oregon State’s Gary Payton in 1986-87 as the only freshmen to win the Defensive Player of the Year honor.
Overall, Mobley is the fourth to win Player and Freshman of the Year, following Arizona’s Deandre Ayton (2017-18), UCLA’s Kevin Love (2007-08) and California’s Shareef Abdur-Rahim (1995-96).
He's had eight 20-point games this season, but he's been held to 13 or less in the last five games, and the Trojans will need peak Mobley as they begin their postseason push this week in the Pac-12 tournament.
If there has been any critique of the freshman phenom it's that he could be more assertive on the offensive end at times, but he's such a smooth, fluid and nimble player for his size, a deft and intelligent passer, and while all of the spotlight has been on him throughout the season he's been at his core a team player at all times, ever willing to make the right pass rather than put the offense on his shoulders.
Defensively and as a rebounder, meanwhile, he's been steady as can be.
As for Enfield, this is his first Pac-12 Coach of the Year honor in eight seasons with the Trojans, and it's well deserved.
He almost entirely rebuilt his roster this season, returning only two rotation players with any notable experience (point guard Ethan Anderson and forward Isaiah Mobley) along with fellow developing sophomore Max Agbonkpolo. With Evan Mobley as the centerpiece, Enfield filled out his rotation with four transfers who have all made an impact in Eaddy (from Santa Clara), fellow guards Drew Peterson (Rice) and Isaiah White (Utah Valley) and forward Chevez Goodwin (Wofford).
Eaddy emerged as USC's reliable spark on offense and ranks second on the team in scoring at 13.8 points per game.
The Trojans open Pac-12 tournament play Thursday in Las Vegas, Nev., against either No. 7-seeded Utah or No. 10 Washington.
Player of the Year: Evan Mobley, USC
Defensive Player of the Year: Evan Mobley, USC
Freshman of the Year: Evan Mobley, USC
Most Improved Player of the Year: Jaiden Delaire, Stanford
Sixth Man of the Year: Jordan Brown, Arizona
Coach of the Year: Andy Enfield, USC