New York is saturated with point guards, but the play of senior point guard
Shaq Mosley (Uniondale High School (N.Y.) '12) will demand that
recruiters and spectators, alike, sit up and pay attention.
Mosley,
who received the Nassau County player-of-the-year accolade, led his team to an
undefeated season until suffering a disappointing loss to Baldwin H.S. in the
Nassau Class AA boys basketball championship.
Despite his small frame,
the 5-foot-7, 145-pound floor general aids in sewing his squad's talent together
like a patchwork quilt to make various styles of play blend well. Because of
this quality, how Mosley performs in matchups is a crucial, common thread in the
on-court chemistry, effectiveness and, ultimately, the overall success rate of
any squad he joins.
"In my senior year, I took more of a leadership role;
more of a point guard role; and just got my teammates involved," said Mosley,
who is playing with Team Underrated in the iS8/Nike Spring High School Classic.
"I've been playing 19-and-under iS8 [iS8/Nike Classics] since I was 12[-years
old]. I've always played up all my life so, when I play up against big guys, it
doesn't matter."
Mosley's leadership skills at the one helped Team
Underrated to a perfect 4-0 standing in the pool play portion of the iS8. As a
result, Team Underrated earned an automatic bid in the Classic's one-and-done
playoffs, which kick off next week.
On the offensive end of the floor,
Mosley has a high basketball IQ when it comes to in-game decision-making. He has
an innate ability to find his teammates for high-percentage shots on the floor
with tight, concise passes that he can execute in midair or during dribbling
speed change-ups.
With sturdy ball-handling skills, Mosley likes to
penetrate to the middle up against big men to score or draw the defense in for
the dribble-drive-and-kick to teammates waiting at the wings for a 3-pointer or
within the circle for a midrange jumper. Because of his rapid speed, and an
effective stutter-step, at times, incorporated into his footwork, Mosley can
easily rattle opponents out of their defensive posture, giving himself enough
space to exploit passing or driving lanes.
"When you're playing against
big guys, you have to play very smart," said Mosley, a McDonald's All-American
nominee, when asked about his fearless penetration. "You don't want to go in the
lane and get your shot smacked all around. When you go to the basket, you have
to have heart and finish . . ."
When Mosley is running the offense, he
does not panic when - as it often happens - the defense collapses on him.
Instead, the guard maintains poise and gets the job done whether through
assisting on a basket, scoring or drawing the foul.
On the defensive
end, what Mosley lacks in height, he compensates with quick hands and toughness.
He, oftentimes, frustrates opponents on the ball because he can stay in front of
them. As a hard player to shake off, Mosley frequently steals balls and can
capitalize in transition rapidly, as he is usually the fastest player on the
court.
Regarding Mosley's jump-shooting - when he leaks out to the
perimeter and has had time to get his feet set - he can knock down a shot from
deep. He also has the ability to nail pull-up jumpers off the bounce. Mosley
knows how to lull his defenders to sleep with his impressive ball-handling
skills, get some space, and shoot or accelerate down the lane to the basket.
Having all the tools for a superior midrange and outside game, he just needs to
display more consistency.
In halfcourt sets, when attempting to initiate
the offense, Mosley may become tentative if he gets stuck waiting for his
opponents to open up for facilitation. This gives defenders time and opportunity
to force a turnover by stealing the ball or poking it loose. If his teammates
are not moving around well without the ball, Mosley will force a play on the
inside - usually bailing his team out by drawing the foul.
"I was
thinking about verbally committing to either Quinnipiac or Iona," said Mosley,
"but I'm going to prep school because I want to get my SATs higher, get another
year in for [athletic] maturity and to get stronger."
With the
understanding of self-improvement, Mosley said that he is looking to attend
Marianapolis Preparatory School (Thompson, Conn.), Putnam Science Academy
(Putnam, Conn.) or Mount Zion Christian Academy (Durham, N.C.) for post-grad
academics and athletics.
Although Mosley is uncertain as to where he will
be attending prep school right now, one thing is for sure - one can expect a
more polished and dynamic game from him by the end of the 2012-13 season.
