The University of Maryland’s Men’s Basketball Team is a few weeks away from ‘Maryland Madness,’ and the start of practice. When practice starts, a lot of eyes will be focused on Sophomore Sean Mosley, looking to see how his game has progressed. As expectations for the team continue to rise, it is imperative that Mosley progresses as a scorer.
Mosley arrived in College Park as the Metro Player of the Year by the Baltimore Sun, and 2008 Gatorade Player of the Year in Maryland. Rivals.com recognized Mosley as a player with pedigree, ranking Mosley as a Top 65 National player.
Scoring at the high-school level was never a problem for Mosley, as he finished his career as the 2nd-leading scorer in Maryland high school basketball history.
His Freshman season as a Terp, proved to be an interesting year.
He averaged 19.6 mts per game, scoring 5.3 points per game, with 3.7 boards, 1.3 assists, and 0.9 steals. He was ok from the foul-line, averaging 70.07 %, but was just 5 for 21 from 3-point land (23.8%).
He scored in double-figures 6 times, with his best game of the year coming at North Carolina, against the eventual National Champion. In that first-appearance at Chapel Hill, Mosley finished with 19 points, 3 boards, and 4 assists.
No matter how hard Mosley worked this off-season, he is not going to be a high-flyer all of a sudden. What Mosley does well, is use his thick 6’4, 210 lb frame, and play-physical.
What I am hoping to see, is some further increased strength, and ability to finish-strong in the paint. Mosley was effective on the offensive-glass last-year, but too-often gave away layups.
His shot was extremely flat last year when he stepped out. I would imagine he spent a large part of this off-season working to improve his technique. It will be interesting to see where his confidence is, as he took only 6 3pt attempts during the last 15 games.
On defense, Mosley makes up for his lack of lateral quicks, by staying in-front of offensive-players. One benefit of not having a lot of hops, is that he keeps his feet on the ground, which typically allows him to keep position. His pure strength, (and hustle) had him ripping the ball from offensive players nearly every-game.
Looking at the roster, it seems clear most of Mosley’s minutes will come from the 3. With Williams at the 5, and Padgett helping at Milbourne at the 4, Mosley might have the opportunity to avoid playing exclusively underneath the basket.
Coach Gary Williams has stated many-times that the biggest improvement in players is during the period-leading up to their Sophomore season. It will be interesting to see just where Mosley as a player. With Tucker, and JSC as additional-options off the bench, Mosley will be pushed.
My basic expectation for his 2009-10 season, would be an increase in his minutes to about 25 per game. If he can convert at a slightly higher-percentage at the line, and bring his FG% to about 40%, he should be able to approach double-figures in scoring.
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Chris Stoner founded Baltimore Sports and Life in 2009. He has appeared as a radio guest with 1090 WBAL, 105.7 The Fan, CBS 1300, Q1370, WOYK 1350, WKAV 1400, and WNST 1570. He has also been interviewed by The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Business Journal, and PressBox (TV). As Owner, his responsibilities include serving as the Managing Editor, Publicist, & Sales Director.