Like most Central Ohio basketball players, they’ve known each other for years. There’s a mutual respect borne out of early mornings, developing talent and upward career trajectories.

Sunday evening at Ohio Dominican University, they were teammates for the first time. Playing for team 4DEEP in the championship game of the Kingdom Summer League, Trey Burke and John “Juni” Mobley Jr. came up short in their pursuit of a title, losing 124-122 on a buzzer beater.

But Mobley, a 2024 guard committed to Ohio State who has one more year before starting his collegiate career, left an impression on Burke, the 2013 national player of the year at the University of Michigan and the No. 9 overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft.

“I think he’s one of the next up-and-coming stars coming out of the city,” Burke said. “I’m excited for his journey, to see how it goes.”

A Northland graduate who earned Associated Press Ohio Mr. Basketball honors in 2011, Burke spent two seasons with the Wolverines and averaged 16.9 points and 5.7 assists before being taken by Minnesota in the first round of the draft. As a youngster, Burke would frequently work out at “The Hoop,” a now-closed gym on E. 5th Ave. near the airport.

It was there that he first became acquainted with a 5-year-old Mobley, whose family lived in Reynoldsburg from ages 5-14.

“Juni used to just always be in the gym,” Burke said. “Juni used to always be around. He was one of those kids who was always in the gym. Everybody’s familiar with him. This whole city’s rooting for him.”

Sunday’s championship game marked the first time the two had played together. Burke started and Mobley came off the bench against team Committed To My Craft, which featured five former Big Ten players: Michigan’s Zavier Simpson, Ohio State (and Toledo)’s J.D. Weatherspoon and Wisconsin’s D’Mitrik Trice, Khalil Iverson and Vitto Brown. Arizona State’s Shawn Phillips and Otterbein product and Carmen’s Crew member Jeff Gibbs rounded out the roster.

It marked Mobley’s second consecutive Kingdom appearance after having spent the summer primarily playing AAU basketball, but after scoring 17 points in his debut he found tougher going this time. Often matched up against Iverson, a four-year letterwinner for the Badgers from 2015-19, and Simpson, a two-time second-team all-Big Ten selection during a four-year career from 2016-20, Mobley primarily handled the ball or initiated offense in relief of Burke, who led 4DEEP in scoring.

“I’m always going to compete no matter what,” Mobley said. “I don’t care who’s across from me. It was good to learn stuff from them as the game went on, not them telling me stuff but just watching so I can put it into my own game.”

On one sequence, Iverson physically overpowered Mobley on a drive to score before the youngster drove around him at the other end only to have his layup rim out. In the process, Mobley lost track of Iverson in transition as the former Badger finished at the rim.

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It was the kind of situation Burke said will happen less frequently as Mobley grows.

“It’s always good to get out there with people that’s older than you,” Burke said. “He works out every day. I’m not questioning the kid’s talent. The kid’s in the gym two to three times a day. He’s definitely going to be special. Just getting used to the physicality of the game, playing with older men, playing with grown men, it’s an adjustment and it’s good for him to get out here early before he gets to Ohio State so he can at least get used to how it’s going to feel at the next level.”

Mobley finished with 10 points on 3 of 10 shooting. He was 2 for 7 from 3-point range and was fouled by Simpson on another attempt, converting two of the subsequent free throws. After missing his first four 3s, Mobley pumped his fist after connecting on his fifth try and made two of his final three. He was also victimized by Simpson on one of his signature hook shots.

“I mean, it was a great atmosphere,” Mobley said of the game. “To be a part of something like that and play crunch-time minutes is a blessing. Great game, great players, and it was a crazy game. It didn’t go our way, but it’s all good.”

He played with a brace on his left ankle that Mobley said he sprained twice in one AAU game and tweaked during the week leading into the title game. Asked what he hoped fans who watched him during his two Kingdom appearances would take away from the experience, Mobley said, “Just somebody who’s doing what they can do to try to win. My shot not falling, I’m going to show it on the defensive end. I’ll drive to the basket, get my teammates involved, stuff like that.”

A four-star prospect in the 2024 class, Mobley is the No. 40 national prospect and the No. 6 combo guard according to 247Sports.com.

After the game – which was decided on a Simpson banked-in shot as time expired – Mobley said he planned to spend the next week or so enjoying time in Columbus and meeting with the Ohio State coaches and players before heading to Mount Pleasant (Utah) Wasatch Academy for his senior season. Two hours before the championship game, the Buckeyes landed a second commitment for the 2024 class in fellow Ohioan Colin White, a three-star wing from Ottawa-Glandorf.

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Mobley said Ohio State coach Chris Holtmann had given him White’s number and that he planned to call him that evening to “welcome him to the family.” Ohio State could still add one more player to its 2024 class, and one of Mobley’s AAU teammates remains a candidate.

Aiden Sherrell, a four-star center who will play for Napa Valley (California) Prolific Prep, was set to announce his college decision Sunday only to announce that he was postponing. Is that good news for the Buckeyes, who are one of his finalists?

“Yeah, it should be,” Mobley said with a smile. “It should be.”

ajardy@dispatch.com

@AdamJardy

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Future Buckeye 'Juni' Mobley continues to impress NBA star Trey Burke