Analyzing Harrison Ingram and Isaiah Mobley in the USC-Stanford Game

January 13^th, 2022

By Alan Lu

Stanford’s 6-8 freshman forward, Harrison Ingram is a skilled, versatile player that has been playing well this season, and he has been moving up draft boards.  USC’s 6-10 junior big man, Isaiah Mobley also has been playing very well, and he may be one of the more underrated prospects that is currently playing in college basketball.  I decided to watch them play in a January 11^th game, as they squared off in a Pac-12 conference basketball matchup.  USC came in undefeated to start the day, but Stanford managed to rally from behind to get a comeback win.  Here are my thoughts on they fared, as well as how their games may stack up as prospects for the NBA.

Harrison Ingram had a solid showing in his team’s win over USC.  He is a strong, mobile forward that has a variety of skills, and he played a solid all-around game to help his team get the victory. Ingram did a good job of shooting the basketball.  He excelled at making quick, open spot-up threes off the catch, and he thrived as an outside shooter in this game.  Plus, he also showed a knack for scoring on hustle plays.  Ingram would often score on put backs, and he also managed to score on a cut as well as in transition.  He would outwork his opponents on the offensive glass, which would enable him to score on second chance points, and he also drove the ball up the court to score on a breakaway dunk. 

Plus, he also would take the ball hard to the hoop off the dribble and when posting up to get to the free throw line.  Sometimes though, he would take tough, contested shots, which would lead to misses, especially when he wouldn’t get foul calls.  Also, he showed off solid playmaking skills.  Ingram is a patient player that sees the floor well, and he would throw accurate drive and kick passes to get the ball to shooters.  He also can find cutters on the move, and he also handles the ball well, as he was sometimes tasked to bring the ball up and be the team’s point forward. Adding to that, Ingram did a great job of rebounding the basketball.  He would often chase down balls to get boards on both ends of the floor.  He would aggressively get offensive rebounds, and he was able to get tough boards in traffic. He also would usually bring the ball up the floor after getting defensive rebounds.

He also played satisfactory defense in this game.  Ingram would run in to poke balls and get his hands on passes to get steals and deflections.  He also would actively contest shots both out on the perimeter as well as in the paint to force misses.  On the downside, sometimes he would get caught cheating in the lane, and he would be late to rotate back or to contest shots, which would lead him to allow opponents to score on jumpers.  Other times, he would get beat off the dribble by quicker guards, and he can struggle to stay in front of them when they can accelerate and get a step on him.

In general, Harrison Ingram played well, as he excelled in virtually all facets of the game to help lead his team to a win over USC.  He has been having a very good season this year, and he is making a strong case for himself to go in the first round of the 2022 draft.

Isaiah Mobley also put forth a good performance in his team’s loss to Stanford.  Mobley has been playing very well this year, and he especially thrived as an offensive player when he was on the court. Mobley did a very good job of knocking down three-pointers to provide floor spacing for his team on offense.  He showed a knack for making quick, spot-up threes off the catch, and he also was able to make one from way out.  He also dribbled up the floor, and drew three free throws after hoisting up a pull-up three on another possession. He also showed a knack for drawing fouls when posting up, as well as off of put backs and drives to the hoop.  On the other hand, he did have his shot blocked when posting up once, as he went up a little too soft that time when he looked to score n the paint that time.

Also, Mobley displayed very good playmaking skills.  He is an unselfish player that passes and handles the ball well.  He would often find open shooters, and he also can consistently pass out of the post as well as off the dribble.  He is a good passer that can consistently find cutters, and he also can keep his dribble and find teammates on the break to set up scoring chances for them.  He also threw a nice lob pass to a cutter that nearly resulted in an assist, but it was waved off because time had expired at the end of the first half. Also, Mobley did a decent job of rebounding the basketball.  He was able to get boards on both ends of the floor, and he would sometimes quickly bring the ball up and push it up the court after getting defensive boards.  On another play though, he was called for committing an over the back foul when going for an offensive rebound.

He also played satisfactory defense.  Mobley was able to pick off an entry pass to get a steal, and he also poked a ball away from a post player to force another.  He also was able to block a shot early in this game.  He also would use his length to contest shots both out on the perimeter and in the paint to get stops for his team.  Sometimes though, he would struggle to defend quicker opponents off the dribble, as he wouldn’t always move his feet well.  Other times, he would be late on his rotations, and there was one play where he lost track of his man on a backdoor cut.  Another time, he sagged too far off of a shooter, which led him to give up a three-point basket.

In summary, Isaiah Mobley had a strong showing in this game.  He had a good all-around showing, and he especially thrived as a shooter and facilitator when he was on the court.  He is a good, all-around player that may be a very underrated prospect, and he could be a solid pick for an NBA team in the first round of the 2022 draft.

Boogie Ellis had a decent showing in his team’s loss to Stanford.  He is an agile, skilled combo guard that thrived as a scorer in the first half, and he can consistently get into the lane to create shots for himself and others.  He struggled to knock down shots and ran into some turnover trouble in the second half, but he showed that he operates well as a shot creating point guard for his team.

Ellis showed that he can knock down outside shots, as well as draw free throws on strong drives to the hoop.  He is a speedy guard that showed a knack for scoring on pull-up, mid-range jumpers, and he can change speeds to do so.  He also managed to score on an open trail three another time.  However, he struggled to consistently score off the dribble, especially when he would look to go all the way to the basket, and he would sometimes miss shots due to rushing.

He also looked to be perhaps above average as a playmaker.  Ellis is a fleet-footed guard that can throw crisp, accurate passes off the dribble to set up numerous scoring chances for his teammates, and he also threw an accurate lob pass to set up a score for a teammate on the break.  On the downside, sometimes he would throw hasty, ill-advised passes that would get intercepted.  He also was able to haul in several defensive rebounds to help his team chip in on the boards.  Defensively, he looked to be about average at best.  Ellis was able to successfully draw a charge when defending in the post once.  However, he generally struggled to defend much taller opponents, and his lack of size would make it tough for him to guard opponents in one-on-one situations.

Overall, Boogie Ellis played fairly well in this game.  He showed off a variety of scoring skills, and he also looked to be a better passer and ball handler than the box score statistics gave him credit for.  Still, he will need to improve his three-point shot, and he will need to take better care of the basketball.  He is a talented player that has the skills to be able to play in the NBA one day, but he will need to harness them to be a more consistently productive player in games.  Currently, he projects to be a borderline second round candidate for the 2022 draft.

Also, Stanford’s 6-7 junior forward, Spencer Jones also played well in his team’s win over USC.  He thrived as a shooter, scorer, and defender, and he made energetic plays to help his team get the victory. Jones shot the ball well, especially from beyond the arc.  He was very effective in making spot-up threes off the catch, and he also ran off of ball screens to score on two of those three-point shots.  Plus, he also used a hesitation move to score on a pull-up, mid-range jumper.  He also generally excelled at scoring on hustle plays, and he was able to throw down a powerful dunk on a fast break drive once.  He also showed some ability to score off the dribble as well as in the post.

Jones looked to be about average at best as a playmaker in this game.  He was able to throw a sharp entry pass to notch an assist.  However, on a right-handed drive to the hoop, he collided into a defender, which led him to commit a charging foul.  He also threw an interior pass that was dropped out of bounds that led him to commit another turnover. Though he didn’t grab many rebounds, he was able to leap up to get a pair of defensive boards to help chip in on the glass in this game.  Also, Jones played satisfactory defense.  He tended to make good rotations, as he was able to block a shot hard off of a cut, and he also would poke balls away to get steals and deflections.  He also managed to dive on the ground to jump on a loose ball to help his team get another steal.  He also was able to contest a shot off of a drive to force a miss. 

On the downside, sometimes he would struggle to defend in one-on-one situations, and he would play a bit too physically, which would lead him to commit touch fouls.  Another time, he leaked out too early and wound up out of position when the opposing team came away with the offensive rebound, and he ended up allowing an opponent to score on a three-point shot.  Overall, Spencer Jones is a fairly athletic, energetic forward that thrived at making plays on both ends of the floor in this game.  He shot the ball very well, and he is a versatile, combo forward that could project well into a 3 and D role at the NBA level.

Also, USC’s 6-9 sixth-year senior forward, Chevez Goodwin played fairly well in his team’s loss to Stanford.  He is a strong, athletic big man that primarily looked to score in the paint, and he also passed and rebounded well when he was on the court. Goodwin showed a solid ability to score in the post.  He would tend to score on turnaround jump hooks, as he can use either hand to do so, and he also can score on strong, drop step moves.  He also managed to throw down a powerful dunk early on, and he also ran the floor to score on a fast break.  Sometimes though, he would end up missing shots around the basket due to rushing.  He also passed the ball well.  He was a very effective passer out of the post, and he also showed that he can find cutters to set up scoring chances for his teammates.

He also did a solid job of rebounding the basketball.  Goodwin was able to chase down boards to get them on both ends of the floor.  On the downside, sometimes he would be too aggressive in going for rebounds, which would lead him to commit over the back fouls when going for offensive rebounds.  Defensively, he looked to be fairly average.  For the positives, Goodwin was able to rotate to block a shot off of a drive to a teammate due to possessing a solid blend of athleticism, timing, and motor.  He also would contest shots both out on the perimeter as well as in the paint to force misses. 

On the downside, he would sometimes struggle to defend in screen situations or when he would have to defend out in space.  He would sometimes be late on his rotations, and he would end up allowing scores around the basket.  Other times, he would sag too far off of shooters, and he would give up too much space to them.  Overall, Chevez Goodwin put forth a decent performance in this game.  He generally thrived as an inside scorer, and he also passed and rebounded well.  He will need to be a more disciplined defender in games, and he will also need to extend his shooting range.  He is a high-motor player that could project into a defensive specialist role at higher levels, and he could end up competing for a roster spot in the NBA someday.

USC’s 6-11 redshirt sophomore center, Joshua Morgan played fairly well in his team’s loss to Stanford.  He made a lot of hustle plays, especially on the defensive end, and he thrived as a shot blocker and interior defender in this game. Morgan generally excelled at scoring on off-ball motion plays.  He would tend to score on cuts and in transition.  He was able to score on an emphatic dunk off of a cut, and he also was able to grab a lob pass to score on a layup on the break.  Plus, he also rolled to the post, and managed to get deep position to score around the basket.  He also took an open mid-range shot, but missed that time, and he will need to show that he can reliably knock down shots from that range at higher levels.  He wasn’t too noticeable as a playmaker, but he did drop a catchable interior pass that ended up getting intercepted by an opponent once midway through this match.

He also did a decent job of rebounding the basketball.  He also played solid defense in this game.  Morgan would often rotate to block shots off of drives to help his team protect the paint, and sometimes he would swat balls to his teammates.  He did a good job of contesting shots in the paint and altering them to change his opponents’ shot trajectories, and he also managed to contest a three to force a miss another time.  On the downside, he can sometimes struggle to defend out on the perimeter.  He would sometimes not communicate effectively to his teammates on how they should defend screens, which can lead his team to end up in scramble situations.  On another play, he over-helped in the paint and lost track of his man on a cut, and he ended up committing the foul that time.

Overall, Joshua Morgan had a solid showing in his team’s loss to Stanford.  He is a fairly athletic, high-motor big man that relies on his length, quickness, and timing to block shots and get stops defensively.  He will need to expand upon his skill set and be more assertive on offense, but defense is most likely his calling card in order for him to reach and play at higher levels.  He would most likely project into a rim protector role if he makes it to the NBA, and his ability to block shots and defend could make him an intriguing prospect sometime down the road.