Julian Jacobs to Hire Agent for NBA Draft, Won’t Return to USC

USC basketball’s offseason continues to get worse as junior guard Julian Jacobs appears likely to sign with an agent and end his Trojan career.

Julian Jacobs plans to sign with an agent, ending his USC basketball career and adding more bad news to a difficult offseason for Andy Enfield’s program.

The report of Jacobs’ intentions came via Jeff Goodman of ESPN on Twitter:

Jacobs was not among those players invited to the NBA Combine this year, making the junior’s decision quite a surprise. He had declared for the NBA draft at the end of March originally delayed the hiring of an agent so that he could test the pro waters without ending his college eligibility.

The All-Pac-12 first teamer averaged 11.6 points and led USC with 169 assists on the season, setting the tempo which saw offense thrive at the Galen Center. With Jacobs leading the way, the Trojans mounted their best campaign in years, earning a bid in the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011.

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• USC Podcast: RoT Radio Ep. 396 on the Football Season’s Fallout
• Talanoa Hufanga named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, USC football with five first-teamers

With Jacobs, USC was expected to begin next season ranked and perhaps challenge for a Pac-12 title with nearly the entire squad returning.

Without Jacobs, expectations for the Trojans in 2016-17 will certainly drop off by some margin, but his loss represents just the most valuable of several departures this year.

USC has already lost regular starter Katin Reinhardt and bench contributors Darion Clark, Malik Marquetti and Malik Martin to transfers this offseason.

Enfield could lose another key player in Nikola Jovanovic who also declared for the draft last month, but has yet to indicate an intention to hire an agent. Jovanovic, like Jacobs, was not invited to the NBA Combine.