“Don’t let the sum total of your existence be 8-10 pounds of air.”
That’s the phrase that legendary Georgetown head coach John Thompson Jr. would instill into his Georgetown teams, reminding them that the world is larger than basketball. Beginning with Thompson Jr., and continuing with Ewing today, Georgetown has placed a deflated basketball in their offices to remind players that “at some point the ball is going to stop bouncing.”
Jagan Mosely embodies what it means to be a Hoya. He was a key contributor on the court, but off the court he was a well-rounded person who got the full measure of value from his Georgetown degree. His time at Georgetown transcends his accomplishments on the court.
He was named to the Big East All-Academic team twice, all the while majoring in finance and playing basketball at a high level. Off the court, he’s engaged Georgetown fans and has been the voice of this year’s team, with a positivity and determination that has never wavered.
Coach Patrick Ewing said of Mosely that, “He’s not Allen Iverson, he’s not myself, he’s not Dikembe or Alonzo, but to me he is up there with all of us.”
Jagan’s got the heart of a lion, and he deserves every bit of that praise from his coach.
Mosely’s Georgetown career has been a roller-coaster. After his freshman year, the coach who had recruited him to the Hilltop was fired after weeks of public outcry from students and alumni. He stayed with the Hoyas and played for a new coach. In his sophomore year, he was thrust into the role as the backup point guard by sheer necessity. While he frustrated fans (including me) with his play at times, being turnover prone, I realize now that even then, he was always the glue guy for the team, beginning during those lean years. However, he also began to earn plaudits for his play. Last year he got on the Sportscenter Top Five plays for his hammer on Sandro Mamukelashvili of Seton Hall.
This year has been different. Hoya fans, myself included, have begun to appreciate all that Jagan represents on and off the court. He’s been the undisputed heart and soul of this year’s team, and he’s the player Hoyas fans have rallied behind. He’s never going to be the flashiest player on the court, but his career is a testament to the value of hard work. In Mosely’s freshman year, he shot 37.1% from the field and a cringeworthy 24.3% from beyond the arc. By his senior year, he improved to shooting 49.7% from the field and 38.8% from three-point range.
He’s the ultimate glue guy, a team player who leads and helps elevate his teammates’ play. Mosely’s being a team player is best embodied by the 3.7 assists per game he’s averaged this season, good for second-most on the team.
He’s the bridge between eras, from the end of the JTIII reign to the dawn of the Patrick Ewing era. Mosely has stuck with the Hoyas through thick and thin, starting with the tumultuous last days of the JTIII era to this season, which has been a roller-coaster ride of epic proportions that no one saw coming. Through it all, Jagan has continued to fight, keeping his head down and grinding for the betterment of his team.
Watching Jagan Mosely this year has been the highlight of the season for me. He leaves it all out on the court, both emotionally and physically. How many times have we seen him draw a crucial charge that changed the momentum in Georgetown’s favor? He does a bit of everything well, providing three-point shooting, steals, and even putting the occasional defender on a poster with a dunk. Since the transfers, Mosely has kicked it into overdrive, routinely playing the full 40 minutes of games, even when he was not 100% healthy.
Off the court, Jagan has engaged Georgetown fans with an unfailing kindness and optimism. Georgetown couldn’t ask for a better ambassador or representative of its program. It’s bittersweet, because while so many of Jagan’s goals for the team (and his goals were always for the team; he’d never talk about individual milestones) were unrealized, watching this year’s remade team play with a level of heart and passion not seen in a long time was rewarding for many Georgetown fans.
Jagan is much more than just a basketball player (although he’s pretty darn good at that too). He’s a good person, for whom life is bigger than just basketball.
Jagan Mosely embodies what it means to be a Hoya in every sense of the word.
At the final press conference of the regular season, Patrick Ewing said of Mosely that, “His heart, his effort, his energy, his intensity, his leadership- everything that encompasses him is gonna be hard to replace, and I love that about him.”
The student section this year has taken to chants of “Jagan Mosely”, often heard whenever he picks himself up after hitting the ground on a charge. Mosely would always pick himself up after each fall, always a little more bruised, but it was never about him. It was about the team and the fans. He’s a rare breed, and one I feel lucky to have watched three years of in person.
