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Julian Jacobs Reportedly Set to Declare for 2016 NBA Draft

By Michael Castillo

Feb 17, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans guard Julian Jacobs (12) celebrates in the second half against the Colorado Buffaloes in an NCAA basketball game at Galen Center. USC defeated Colorado 79-72. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Feb 17, 2016; Los Angeles, CA, USA; Southern California Trojans guard Julian Jacobs (12) celebrates in the second half against the Colorado Buffaloes in an NCAA basketball game at Galen Center. USC defeated Colorado 79-72. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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Both the leader and face of the USC basketball team in 2016, junior guard Julian Jacobs has reportedly declared for the NBA Draft.

RELATED STORY: USC Basketball’s Story is Just Beginning

News of Jacobs’s decision came out late Wednesday night from Yahoo!’s vertical aptly titled The Vertical, which covers the NBA. Here’s what they had to say:

"USC junior guard Julian Jacobs will declare for the 2016 NBA draft and is contemplating his representation decision, league sources told The Vertical. Jacobs informed USC coach Andy Enfield of his decision to leave school on Wednesday, sources said."

Per NCAA rules, players can declare for the NBA Draft and return to their teams within two weeks of the combine, but they forgo their eligibility once they sign an agent. That could be a plus for the Trojans, as Jacobs isn’t exactly considered a lock to be drafted.

Currently, DraftExpress.com ranks him as the 75th overall prospect and he is not listed in either of mock drafts for the 2016 or 2017 NBA Drafts.

SEE ALSO: Trojans Lose Two Basketball Players to Transfer

Should Jacobs ultimately hire representation and leave the program, he would be the fourth Trojan to depart since the team was eliminated in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by Providence just two weeks ago.

The school confirmed on Tuesday that role players Darion Clark, Katin Reinhardt and Malik Martin would all be exiting the team on transfers.

It’s a stark contrast of the narrative coming out of the end of the year, in which optimism was still high around the program given that it seemed that entire team was set to return for the 2016-17 season.

MORE: USC Basketball Needs to Return to the Fundamentals

Losing Jacobs significantly changes that, as he was undoubtedly the Trojans’ best player this past season. He averaged 11.6 points per game and turned in several highlight dunks on the season.

If Jacobs goes, USC will need to replace him by getting more out of soon-to-be sophomore shooting guard Bennie Boatwright.

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