USC Basketball: Observer Believes Returning Trojan Evolving Into Two-Way Stud

How high is his NCAA ceiling?

Your USC Trojans have been riding high since wrapping up their 10-day preseason exhibition stint in Europe with a 3-0 record over two different pro teams. From August 5th-15th, the Cardinal and Gold traveled from Mykonos, Greece to Dubrovnik, Croatia, vanquishing Serbian team MEGA Mis twice in the former locale and Montenegrin pro club SC Derby KK once in the latter.

The Trojans' best defensive perimeter player, an All-Pac-12 Defensive Teamer in 2023, took an impressive leap on the other end on this trip, at least when it came to being willing to put up shots. But beyond that, his willingness as a ball handler seems to be impressing informed observers.

Per Shotgun Spratling of 247Sports, the rising 6'6" junior out of Milwaukee has already grown by leaps and bounds since his inaugural season with the program.

"Kobe Johnson is unrecognizable compared to the player he was when he arrived at USC," Spratling writes. "He’s a burgeoning star with his playmaking ability on both ends."

Across the Trojans' three winning exhibition contests in Europe, Johnson averaged 14.3 points on a less-than-efficient .390/.278/.857 shooting splits (albeit on a robust 13.7 field goal attempts per), 6.0 rebounds, 3.7 dimes, 3.3 steals, and 1.3 blocks a night.

Johnson is currently seen as a fringe late-second round prospect in 2024's NBA draft, should he declare for it with a season remaining in his college eligibility. It's anyone's guess how high his stock will rise when the 2023-24 season kicks off, but it'll be fun to find out.