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Isaiah Moss paced up and down the sidewalk, filled with nerves.
Days earlier, he transferred from Iowa to Arkansas. Soon after, he realized he made a mistake. He regretted choosing Arkansas over Kansas, the school he and his family had been focused on.
Jersey swaps on Twitter didn’t feature him in royal blue, but bright red. He committed to the Razorbacks, enthralled by Eric Musselman’s NBA promises. The people closest to Moss were stunned but they’d happily support him.
“Hey, I’ll root for the Razorbacks, oink oink or whatever the hell they say,” Mark Zelenika, or Coach Mark, a long time family friend, said.
But when Coach Mark asked Moss for his reasoning days later, he didn’t answer him with confidence.
“I think I made a mistake,” Moss said. “I think I just make a quick decision,”
Coach Mark didn’t know what he could do. He’d never been through this process; he didn’t know if Moss’ commitment was final. But he asked Moss if he could switch to Kansas. Moss’ shy but sincere grin told Coach Mark all he needed to know.
Later, Coach Mark called Kansas assistant Jerrance Howard to speak about Moss. Forty-five minutes later, standing in the deli line at the grocery store, Howard called back. Moss hadn’t signed any papers and Bill Self had Moss highlighted in his dream starting five. If he really wanted to, he could switch to Kansas.
To make this happen, Moss would have to call Eric Musselman and de-commit. Coach Mark would notify Kansas, then Self would talk to Musselman. The plan was set.
Throughout his life, Moss embodied selflessness. From his time as a junior basketball player, to his college decision as a high school star, to his struggles at Iowa, Moss wanted to please everyone he could. But this time, he’d have to be selfish for once.
“He doesn’t like to say no to anybody, ” Coach Mark said.
On the day Moss would de-commit, he worked at a charity in Chicago. On his lunch break, he’d make the call. But as Moss was supposed to dial the Arkansas coaches, he froze, pacing up and down the sidewalk. Moss couldn’t help but feel for Arkansas and think about how fans would react.
“He felt like he was breaking up with a girlfriend even though he had dated the girlfriend like half a day,” Coach Mark said.
Eventually, Moss rang an assistant coach and broke the news. Then, Coach Musselman, who didn’t take the news well. But Moss overcame this fear and made it official. An agonizing hour later, Howard finally got on the phone – he was running a practice – and Self called after landing, flying home from a recruiting trip in San Francisco.
Elated, Self reassured him that Kansas was right for Moss and that he was right for Kansas. Self didn’t care that Moss didn’t choose Kansas first.
“We hope you’re not mad you didn’t seem to be his first choice,” Coach Mark told Self.
“Hell, I wasn’t my wife’s first choice,” Self responded.
*****
Isaiah Moss never stood a chance.
Isaiah glanced up at his older sister, Kela, standing across from him on the basketball court in their driveway. Towering over Isaiah, the Chicago area high school star trounced Isaiah routinely on the court.
“My sister’s actually the star of the family,” Isaiah said.
To finally secure victory, Isaiah enlisted the help of his older brother, Michael, against Kela. Their combined efforts couldn’t best Kela, though, losing in a 2-on-1 game.
While watching his older sister dominate the hardwood helped foster Isaiah’s love for basketball, athletics runs throughout Isaiah’s bloodline. Michael and Kela went on to play football and basketball in college and his mother, Angie Moss, had two pro athletes in her family.
Growing up, Isaiah fell in love with basketball early. He watched Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls religiously and spent Saturday mornings watching high school basketball; Simeon Career Academy’s Jabari Parker his favorite. He’d play in the driveway until dark, reluctant to come inside, bringing his basketball with him when he had to leave the court, even sleeping with it beside him.
Isaiah sat in silent observance, absorbing the basketball he’d watch.
“He’s a kid who would study everything and the more he watched, he perfected the same exact thing that the next person did,” Angie said.
Just after third grade, Isaiah joined his first travel basketball team after previously playing football and soccer: Coach Mark’s Frankfort Warriors. Tall and unskilled, Isaiah fit the mold of many budding hoopers. Yet, as Isaiah grew and improved, Coach Mark couldn’t help but notice his selflessness.
“He was an unbelievable teammate,” he said. “Never an individual player, he was more than happy to see his teammates shooting.”
As Isaiah began to separate in height by sixth grade, his old habits remained: Passing out of doubles whenever pressure came, always deferring. And, as always, he struggled with the physicality of the game.
“He found the right sport, he didn’t like getting hit,” Coach Mark said.
At one tournament in Naperville, Isaiah manned the middle as always, but two heavier and less skilled opponents tossed Isaiah around. Coach Mark pulled Isaiah to the sideline, in tears. In response, Coach Mark harkened back to football, asking Isaiah what a running back does, to Isaiah’s confusion.
“I’m going to call a play and pass that ball into you, play football,” Coach Mark said. “I don’t want you to put the ball on the ground, I want you to run right over those guys when they’re right next to you.”
Isaiah did as his coach told, barreling through the two boys for a charge call to whoops and cheers from the bench.
Eventually, Isaiah outgrew the Warriors and even outgrew his Frankfort high school, Lincoln-Way East. With all of his siblings out of the house, Isaiah’s father, Mike Moss, gave him the choice to move to any school in the country. Following Mike’s question, Isaiah didn’t need time to think it over. His decision had been made years ago.
“Simeon.”
At first, Angie and Mike were apprehensive about sending their son to Simeon. Inner-city Chicago is a far cry from the suburbs Isaiah grew up in. They worried about the culture shock: Lunchroom fights and disrespecting teachers were absent at Lincoln-Way East.
But as Isaiah adapted to life in the inner city, Mike and Angie saw their son blossom. First, socially, oftentimes the loudest in the room, and on the basketball court, where his game began to evolve again.
“He was competing like he never competed before,” Coach Mark said.
For the first time, college coaches lined up to watch Isaiah practice and play. He’s never had eyes on him like this. Simeon’s roster featured future Los Angeles Lakers guard Zach Norvell Jr. and future Division I players Ed Morrow and D.J. Williams, plus Isaiah. Simeon head coach Robert Smith often favored the inner city kids over Isaiah but Isaiah found a way to make a name for himself.
Despite college coaches lining the sidelines, Isaiah played passively at first, deferring to Norvell, Morrow and Williams. After these practices, coaches wouldn’t approach Isaiah with intrigue.
Before one practice, Coach Mark called Isaiah from his New York hotel. He couldn’t be there to watch but he had a message to send to Isaiah.
“You’ve got to change what you’re doing tonight,” he told Isaiah.
That night, Angie called him in tears. It’s the best she’d ever seen her son play. Then, came the college coaches.
“This is the best performance I’ve ever seen,” said then-Rhode Island assistant Luke Murray. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”
“I just watched about the best performance I’ve watched,” Iowa head coach Fran McCaffrey said. “Isaiah Moss is the best player in this gym. We want to recruit Isaiah Moss.”
*****
After all that he’d been through, a vile Instagram message, one that threatened violence against his family, would be the final straw.
It didn’t make any sense. Iowa just fell to Tennessee in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Once down 25, Isaiah spearheaded Iowa’s comeback efforts, finishing with 16 points in 29 minutes with multiple clutch baskets toward the end of regulation. He didn’t even finish overtime.
Just after Isaiah signed with Iowa, the Hawkeyes added four-star recruit Tyler Cook, Iowa native Jordan Bohanon and eventually Fran McCaffrey’s son, Connor McCaffrey.
No success Isaiah saw had him indenting the core of the Hawkeye roster. Not his record-setting 19 points in 96 seconds at Minnesota, not his four first-half triples at Penn State – he barely played in the second half – not even his efforts in Iowa’s comeback in the NCAA Tournament against Tennessee, where he didn’t play to end overtime and, despite that, received harassment from an Instagram user without a profile picture.
Yet, Isaiah struggled to find his place at Iowa and this Instagram message cemented that. That night, police monitored Isaiah’s apartment, ensuring his safety. They caught the person who sent that message, but still, the message to Isaiah was clear: His time in Iowa City was up.
“Coach, I just don’t feel like myself out down here anymore,” Isaiah told Coach Mark.
At this point, Isaiah knew he had to make a decision. He’d have to put the worries of his team aside and think for himself, for his future, for his chances at the NBA.
Bill Self believed in Isaiah. He believed in his talent.
“What they saw is what we saw: That he’s not being utilized right,” Coach Mark said. “He’s got so much more out there than he’s being allowed to show.”
And Self kept his word, as Isaiah finally saw consistent playing time once he got healthy, providing much-needed floor-spacing for the future Big 12 champions.
Initially, some of Isaiah’s passive tendencies emerged. But Self kept pushing him to shoot the ball and Isaiah listened. Against Monmouth, Isaiah notched 21 points in his second game as a Jayhawk, hitting five threes.
Isaiah finished his season with a speech on senior night, a culmination of his journey as a basketball player and as a person.
“The spotlight is on you at Kansas so you have to open up and show the people who you are,” Isaiah said. “I felt more comfortable and happy opening up and showing people how I am.”
When Isaiah moved to Kansas, he knew nobody. It was the third time he’d be an outsider. But this time, he’d have his family at his side. His two sisters, Ashley and Itanza, moved down to Kansas and brought their kids with him to support Isaiah.
After a rough practice, Isaiah had a place of refuge he could be himself. His sisters spoiled Isaiah with home-cooked meals and shopping sprees.
Even at Iowa, Isaiah relished the time he spent with family. Normally reserved, Isaiah’s being shifted when his family was near.
“When the family came, he lit up like it was Christmas time,” Angie said. “He was so overjoyed.”
Isaiah reserves his postgame celebrations for his family. They’re the ones who see his love for dance, see him sliding all around the house to music.
They’re the ones who saw him feel lonely in Iowa City, out of place in a party town where drinking and smoking are the norms.
They’re the ones who see him set an example for his younger nephews.
They’re the ones who see Isaiah spending nights playing NBA 2K with his older brother and days bringing his 90-year-old grandmother roses and helping his aunt with any odd task.
They’re also the ones who see — and have seen — NBA potential in Isaiah. And if he’s selected, they’re the ones who will see his reward for serving himself on the court.
“He deserves it, man,” Mike said. “He’s one of the best shooters in the world.”
Isaiah will have to advocate for himself in life, to be selfish at times. But his silence is not negative. Isaiah always has – and always will – save his energy for the people he loves most.
“Don’t think that’s a disadvantage,” Mike said. “Isaiah never let being humble stop him from getting where he needed to go.”
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