LAS VEGAS – Jonathan Mogbo played his first professional basketball game Saturday night, and he didn’t look out of place.
Which is a story in itself.
The Toronto Raptors drafted the six-foot-six forward out of the University of San Francisco with the first pick of the second round, taking him 31st overall.
The scouting report told of a rangy forward with tremendous ball-handling skills for his size who can use them in the open court to make plays for others and create some room for himself to dunk the air out of the ball and send bodies scattering.
It’s an NBA skill set.
He flashed some of it early in the Raptors’ 94-69 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder when he caught a pass on the wing, beat the close-out with a behind-the-back dribble and snapped a pass on his way through the lane to an open shooter in the opposite corner.
In general, he looked like he belonged, which is about all that Summer League evaluations are good for – determining who looks like they are comfortable at this level and who isn’t, the latter being a red flag, the former no guarantee of anything.
But Mogbo, with his height, length, broad shoulders and quick feet fit in among all the other hopefuls, and stood out in flashes too.
For what it’s worth, Raptors star Scottie Barnes – who grew up as close friends with Mogbo, has hosted him previously in Toronto, attended his draft party and was courtside at Cox Pavilion Saturday night for his professional debut – is very high on his pal’s potential.
“First of all, his length on the defensive end, he moves his feet really well. So that can be really good,” Barnes said. “When you are a long, active defender in this league, great things can happen for you. You just gotta keep developing. He’s a high-IQ player, he passes the ball pretty well. And he’s very unselfish. So when you’re very unselfish and you have those intangibles where you can block shots, you can move your feet, you can guard, that’s gonna be great. And then everything else can just develop from there with some time.”
But for a long time, making an NBA roster seemed like a far-fetched dream Mogbo was exceedingly unlikely to reach.
For a long time, Mogbo was too small.
When he started high school in West Palm Beach, Florida, he was five-foot-nine. His older brother Zach was six-foot-three at the same stage and dunking. Mogbo couldn’t touch the rim. His best friend, Barnes, was already six-foot-six as a high school freshman and a star in the making.
Mogbo’s basketball future was slipping by before it ever got a chance to start.
“You can’t control it, you can’t control height or whatever, so I was just praying to God every day, literally, trying to see you know, how I can fit into a basketball role and basketball game,” Mogbo said in an interview. “So, you know, just staying to myself, staying humble, working on my craft, never stopped doing that. And then day by day, I just kept getting taller and taller.”
It was more year-by-year. He still wasn’t his full height – he’s listed as six-foot-six, but six-foot-seven or six-foot-eight are in the conversation – when he finished high school, his lack of stature figuring into his round-about path post-graduation, where he attended two different junior colleges and played for two different Division 1 programs. He finally put himself on the NBA’s radar with an impressive all-round performance at the University of San Francisco last season, where he averaged 14.2 points, 10.1 rebounds and 3.6 assists in his senior season.
His delayed growth spurt forced him to play guard most of the time growing up and those skills are still evident. Against the Thunder, Mogbo looked seamless in the open floor, starting transition opportunities with defensive rebounds and making the next pass quickly and to the right target.
“I love playing with him,” said Raptors second-year wing Gradey Dick, who led the Summer League Raptors with 18 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in 24 minutes. “You can just throw the ball anywhere in the air and he’s gonna go punch it.”
It wasn’t something that was in the cards when Barnes was fast-tracking as an NBA prospect and Mogbo was bouncing around from school to school after high school.
“I had some down times, but I can control that,” Mogbo said of his late growth spurt and the fallout. “I am who I am. You know, it’s just different. But it was great being a guard, playing fast, and then I grew, and those skills translated, so it’s been a blessing.”
But good size – and Mogbo’s seven-foot-two wingspan means he plays much bigger than whatever his listed height is – and explosive athleticism make everything that much easier.
To prove the point, Mogbo’s only field goal – he added six rebounds and an assist in his 16 minutes of floor time – came in the fourth quarter when he corralled a loose ball, pivoted and smashed home a dunk without needing to dribble or even gather, seemingly.
The kid who couldn’t touch the rim when he started high school started collecting bodies in his first year at junior college.
“I remember coming home after my freshman year of junior college and everyone’s like ‘man, like, you tall as heck now’,” he said. “Hearing that was a blessing, it was stuff I was praying for as a kid. It feels like a superpower now.”
The first time he dunked on someone was one of his teammates at a practice in his first year after high school.
“It was in practice, but I was like ‘wow’ because I never like really dunked like that,” he said. “I have the video on my phone, but I’m not going to do my boy like that, you know.”
It all came together by the time he was at the University of San Francisco.
“That’s when I really started dunking not just off lobs, but coming off the dribble, dunking when I wanted to; that’s when I was like, oh, like, I’m more athletic,” he said. “It’s been a great path.”
There are downsides. He finds himself having to dunk through the odd doorway, and exit-row seats are a must if he can’t find his way into the first-class cabin. He gets stopped and asked how tall he is regularly.
All small problems for a guy who could only dream of having them not all that long ago.
