Throughout the open transfer period Todd Golden and his staff have been aggressive going after the best players on the market and that continued as Missouri State guard Isiaih Mosley listed Florida as one of the schools that got in touch with him that he was considering.
One of the highest-scoring players in college basketball over the last two seasons who did it in a good league (Missouri Valley), it makes sense why top programs would be after him.
Last season Mosley averaged 20.4 points, 6.2 rebounds, and 2.3 assists, monster numbers he put up following the year prior where he had 19.8 points, 6.3 rebounds, and 3.1 assists. With that kind of production over two seasons you know his impact is for real.
Adding to his resume is his high-major frame. Standing at 6’5” and 205 pounds, Mosley played most of his minutes for the Bears with the ball in his hands at the point guard position. With his size and skill set he could be used in a number of ways, but however his next team chooses to utilize him you can bet he’ll be effective.
With many elite players already off the board, Mosley is one of the best players remaining and for that reason a lot of the big dogs are after him including Duke, Kansas, Texas, Louisville, and others to go along with Florida.
Right now it seems like the Gators are pretty locked in on St. Bonaventure point guard Kyle Lofton who will fill the starting point guard spot and complete a projected starting lineup. If they were to miss out on him, they could absolutely go to Mosley and pitch him on the same role–starting at point guard with some established talent all around him.
Luckily for Florida, Mosley is in no rush to make a decision. He recently said he would probably make his decision sometime “after May,” which he said after making it clear that he was in no rush. This could be good news for Florida as if they were to miss out on Lofton they’d still have an opportunity to go heavily after Mosley.
What makes Mosley special is his ability to handle the ball and create space while being physical and strong at 6’5”. Looking at the advanced numbers, Mosley was one of the best pick and roll ball handling guards in the country as well as one of the top isolation scorers in the country which both speak to that ball handling and shot creation ability. His assist numbers aren’t high, but that’s because the role at Missouri State was to be a scorer and he fulfilled that role about as well as he possibly could. Not only did he score 20 points per game, but he did it efficiently shooting 54% from two-point range and 43% behind the arc. Whether it was Mosley torpedoing towards the rim and finishing with power or stopping on a dime and pulling from deep, he was an efficient scorer on heavy volume which is about the hardest thing there is to do in college basketball. Late game situation? No problem, Mosley shot 90% from the free throw line.
These weren’t empty calories, either. Missouri State finished third in the Missouri Valley conference and for a time was being considered for at-large consideration. They finished 72nd in the NET and 70th in KenPom, only about 10 spots behind Florida in each metric. According to KenPom’s adjusted offensive efficiency metric Missouri State was 23rd in the country, and Mosley was doing most of the heavy lifting.
There is a ton to like about Mosley’s game and for that reason you can see why the blue bloods are after him. Kansas is considered to be one of the favorites here, and with Duke calling as well you’d have to think they’d be right in the mix. Florida’s pitch will be all about a starting point guard role in a good situation next to some proven talent, whereas his role on one of the blue blood teams would be a bit more undefined as they try to build around incoming 5-stars.
With Mosley not set to make a decision for a little while this isn’t one you have to hold your breath for, but if the Gators were to miss out on Kyle Lofton, who should be making his decision shortly, a lot of attention could be headed in Mosley’s direction.