By Todd McElwee

After scoring just 5.3 points per game as a freshman, Baltimore-native Sean Mosley averaged 14.8 points and five rebounds in Maryland’s first eight games. (Mitch Stringer/PressBox)

A summer spent on the hardwood led to a countless number of shots for Sean Mosley. At the end of each workout, Maryland’s 6-foot-4 sophomore guard never knew how many he put up, only that he had to take one more.

“It was definitely a couple of thousand shots,” Mosley said. “I knew I had to get my confidence back in myself and in my offense. The ability to score is a key factor in my game.”

Throughout the offseason, one could typically find Mosley, a Baltimore native, honing his craft at the Comcast Center or back in Charm City at the Carmelo Anthony Youth Development Center. He worked out with trainers, team managers, current and former pros and even Anthony himself.

“I had the opportunity to work out with the best guys from Baltimore,” Mosley said. “It definitely helped me out.”

Mosley was searching for something -- namely his shot. Following a heralded senior season at St. Frances Academy, in which he averaged 24.2 points while shooting a potent 55 percent and was named the Gatorade Maryland Player of the Year, his totals slipped. During his freshman campaign in College Park, he shot a pedestrian 37 percent from the floor and averaged 5.3 points.

Caught up in the pace of the collegiate game, Mosley became impatient on the court. Plays couldn’t develop fast enough and shots, many of which failed to drop, were often ill-advised or rushed.

Then, as the Terps’ push for the NCAA Tournament collected speed, it all began to make sense. Mosley rediscovered his touch and, more importantly, his swagger. A starter in Maryland’s final 15 contests, he scored a team-high 19 points in an 88-85 overtime upset of No. 3 North Carolina last February at Comcast.

Freshman year had been an education. Mosley, who appeared in all 35 games, had been tossed into the fire and emerged a wiser and more resolute player. Shots were once again beginning to fall as Mosley returned to the court for an offseason centered on work.

“I was just rushing everything last year,” Mosley said. “This year I’m taking my time and just letting the game come to me.”

“I want him to shoot,” Maryland coach Gary Williams said after Mosley scored 15 points in the Terps' season-opening win over Charleston Southern. “Sean is too good of a player not to use that part of his game, and he earned the right to shoot this year. This year he is healthy and he really worked this summer, took a lot of shots and is a better shooter. When he is open, he's got to shoot the ball to help us.”

Mosley delivered a game-high 19 points, as well as eight rebounds and three assists, in a 79-51 drubbing of Chaminade during the opening round of the EA Sports Maui Invitational in late November. After leading the Terps with a career-high 26 points in a Dec. 6 loss to Villanova, Mosley was averaging 14.8 points and five rebounds per game was second on the team in both rebounds and assists. 

“With his character, toughness and ability to compete, he certainly makes you a better basketball team, as he did last year as a freshman,” Williams said on media day. “Those guys become very important to us.”

Summer is long gone. But Mosley’s shot remains and doesn’t seem to be going anywhere soon.

Issue 144: December 2009