The Classic: Eric Bossi's Thursday Takeaways

RANKINGS: 2019 Rivals150 | 2020 Rivals150 | 2019 Team Rankings

LA VERNE, Calif. – After a few days at The Classic at Damien, one thing is clear. USC fans should be really excited about the prospects of their future interior play.

MORE: Takeaways from Wednesday's Classic | Five-star Williams talks visits

USC fans ought to be paying much more attention to the frontcourt talent that's on the way. Five-star seniors Isaiah Mobley and Onyeka Okongwu are signed sealed and delivered and as much as 2020’s No. 2 ranked player Evan Mobley says that he’s remaining open, I don’t think anybody with a body temperature above that of the room they are currently in thinks he ends up anywhere other than with his brother Isaiah and father Eric, who is an assistant coach for the Trojans.

I’ve covered Isaiah and Evan pretty extensively this winter and they continue to impress. Isaiah plays a skill game, has a sneaky chippy side and will compete. Evan continues to make a major claim for 2020’s top spot with his fluid athleticism, skill and ability to impact both ends. But, I want to talk more about Okongwu who appears to be an ideal college five man to play with the Mobleys. He loves to play around the rim, rebounds, blocks shots and already has some strength. After two days of watching him at The Classic, his hands and ability to catch everything are really standing out.

I’m sure there are some hardcore USC fans that are excited about the arrival of these guys, but the general fanbase should have a little more excitement and hope for the future even while going through a 2018-19 season that hasn’t been quite what was expected to date.

Having now seen Amound Anderson play grassroots ball during the summer, at Nike’s Elite 100 and with Lawndale (Calif.) Leuzinger here at The Classic, I’m pretty surprised that he’s yet to land a scholarship offer. I’m not sure what mid- to upper-mid major programs are waiting on either.

The lefty can shoot with range. He’s got a nice one or two dribble pull-up, he’s skilled and he doesn’t waste a bunch of dribbles setting things up. He’s playing as more of a combo right now but looks like he can run some point in the future. Anderson does need to get stronger and with physical maturity he should get a little more explosive, but he lookslike a guy whose feel for the game should translate.

He’s not a total unknown, though, with interest from programs ranging from Arizona, Notre Dame, San Diego State, Cal State Fullerton, Pepperdine, UC Irvine, Utah State, UC Santa Barbara, Nevada and others. So while there aren’t any offers yet, they should be coming sooner than later.

During the summer with the Compton Magic, Jaylen Clark played on a team so loaded that he had to be a glue guy who did the little things. Dive for loose balls, play tough defense and get his offense in transition. It wasn’t a bad thing either because he was able to learn patience and benefit from exposure provided playing on the team of the summer. Now, back with his high school team, Corona (Calif.) Centennial, Clark is showing off how well-rounded a game he has and why he ranks No. 58 nationally in the 2020 class.

For one, he’s running the point and he’s doing a pretty nice job of it. Good decisions, tough defense and he gets downhill to find shooters like 2020 three-star guard D.J. Davis who can stretch defenses. He’s also hit the weight room hard and is a tank who can defend.

During the fall he saw USC and UNLV and gave high reviews to both. Cal and Ohio State (where his mom went to school) are also showing more and more interest and he should be looking to set some visits up with them as well as a possible return to UNLV for an official in the near future.

…. After spending a few weeks scouting on the West Coast, Long Beach State is emerging as a clear winner in the recruiting steals department from the early signing period. Last week I was impressed by springy Sacramento (Calif.) Sheldon big man Joshua Morgan at the Tarkanian Classic. This week, it’s power forward Romelle Mansel who has caught my eye. Mansel is a legit 6-foot-9, has a college ready body, can shoot to the three-point line, is a skilled passer and looks like somebody we will need to consider strongly for the Rivals150. If either Morgan or Mansel were available right now, there’s little doubt Pac-12 programs would be knocking each other out to get them.

…. We’ll need to keep a close eye on the development of Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco sophomores Lemaj Lewis and Scotty Washington. Both check in at right around 6-foot-4 and bring plenty to the table. Lewis spends a lot of time running the offense and is a combo guard with feel for the game and a great frame to grow into. Washington – whose father, Chris Washington, played hoop at Cal in the 80’s -- is more of a slashing small forward with some athleticism and a jumper that looks like it should work long term. The duo also plays summer ball together with West Coast Elite.

…. I mentioned D.J. Davis earlier while writing about Clark. The junior combo guard is a big-time shooter. He is in range as soon as he crosses half court and he’s not afraid to let it fly at any moment. The confidence is high and he can be awfully entertaining because of it. He’ll be well suited to play in a program that really likes to get up and down and shoot the three.

…. During the final game of the night, 2020 combo guard Keith Dinwiddie of Los Angeles (Calif.) Fairfax and 2021 point guard Malik Thomas of host school La Verne (Calif.) Damien showed off their games. Dinwiddie is a tough and offensive-minded guy who does a nice job mixing drives and jump shots and has very good body control. He’s got offers from UCSB and Montana already and more should be coming. Only a sophomore, Thomas is a big and strong point guard who can bounce off of contact, has some feel for the game and must be accounted for as a jump shooter. He’s been to Washington unofficially and the Huskies along with Pepperdine and Northern Arizona are the first three schools to offer.