Top-30 Junior "Building A Relationship" with Florida
Thanks to a breakout year in the Nike EYBL, Moses Moody’s recruitment was picking up momentum when an injury to his left foot forced the 6-foot-5, 185-pounder to the sidelines three games into the crucial recruiting month of July.
“Yeah, it’s a stress fracture,” Moody said while sitting on the bench watching his Montverde Academy teammates during a post workout shoot around. “I fractured it a while back like during the summer. So I went to the USA (Basketball training camp in June) and that's when I found out that it was a fractured. So I stayed off it for a while, but I came back too soon, and went to Peach Jam (July 11-15). So now I have been off of it ever since. I talked to the doctor and he says I'm supposed to be back in about two weeks.”
Shortly after Moody, the No. 29 ranked prospect in the 2020 class, expects to be cleared to resume basketball activities, the USA Basketball Men’s Junior National Team October mini-camp begins on Oct 5. An event Moody has been invited to attend.
“I will be cleared two weeks before that so I’m going to have to get adjusted quickly to make it, but I should make it.”
Moody “played up” a year on the Brad Beal Elite 17U team and averaged 13.2 points, 3.3 rebounds and one steal per game in the EYBL. A pure scorer who gets buckets at all three levels and averages about two deflections per EYBL game.
Holding offers from Arkansas, Auburn, Baylor, Florida, Florida State, Illinois, Missouri, Mississippi, Stanford and others, the four-star shooting guard is taking his recruitment in stride but suggested his absence from the court may have stalled his momentum a bit.
“It’s going pretty well,” Moody said. “It’s been pretty slow lately on my side of it, I don’t know who has been talking to my parents. I haven’t played in a while so you know. I’ve been talking to some schools and I went up to Florida last week.
Moody, along with teammate Cade Cunningham took an unofficial visit to UF last Sunday (Sept. 9).
“It was a nice visit,” said Moody. “I like the coaching staff. I didn’t spend a lot of time with the players but I talked to Andrew Nembhard, he’s going to be a freshman there this year and Ryan, his little brother, is on my team. So, yeah, he is a nice guy. I didn't get a really good feel for the program but I like the coaching staff and I like the facilities they have.
Moody says that of the Florida coaches, he talks to head coach Mike White the most and added that White has offered and “really has just been building a relationship.”
On August 1 Moody announced that he would transfer from North Little Rock (AR) High School to Montverde Academy. He talked about his acclimation to his new school, surroundings and teammates.
“It’s definitely different but I'm getting adjusted now,” Moody said. “I'm spending time with my teammates bonding on and off the court. So it's been a good adjustment now especially the school aspect of it and really blended well.”
GATORS TERRITORY REACTION
Having one of the top 2020 wing prospects in the country an hour drive from campus, and getting him on campus so soon after his relocation, is certainly a good thing for the Gators. Moody has also taken unofficials to UCLA, Baylor and Arkansas. The Hogs will make it a fight to the finish that you can count on, as landing home grown talent is a priority for Mike Anderson.