It's not easy being a freshman and getting thrown right into the fire in college basketball, and that's exactly what happened to Ohio State basketball player John Mobley Jr. last season. However, that couldn't have been better for him and his game coming into his sophomore season.
Mobley was thrown into the starting lineup after coming off the bench for the first 10 games of his freshman season. With Meechie Johnson leaving the team last season, he ended up starting in every game from that point forward.
While that was a big leap in role change, it helped Mobley prepare for this season and make him one of College Basketball’s top breakout candidates in 2025-26.
Last season, Mobley saw averages of 13 points per game, dished 2.2 assists per game, and he made his name with his lethal shooting ability, knocking down threes at a 38.5% clip.
With that elite shooting ability, opposing teams are going to look to run him off the three-point line forcing him to be more of a creator. Mobley can elevate his game by adding off-the-dribble playmaking and taking on a bigger role ball-handling to help take pressure off Bruce Thornton. Mobley showed flashes of that last season with six games having 4 assists or more.
There were also signs in the Buckeyes' exhibition game vs Ohio that Mobley's been working in that area. In the exhibition, he finished with 12 points was only 2-8 shooting from the field, but was 6-6 from the free throw line.
He looked more aggressive, trying to find more ways to be effective in the offense even when the shots weren't falling. He also added 3 assists in the exhibition game.
A breakout from Mobley can help the Ohio State basketball team get to the next level with another reliable scorer and playmaker. There's always that freshman-to-sophomore leap in college basketball, and Mobley is towards the top of the list of sophomores that we could see that leap from this season.