Last Thursday, the Ole Miss Rebels went into the Stephen O’Connell Center to play against the Florida Gators. After a timeout was called and Ole Miss was trailing 61-59, there was one player who was ready to help lead his team to victory.
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With 2.7 seconds remaining on the clock, Ole Miss shooting guard Stefan Moody shot a game-winning three-point shot from the top of the arc, and nailed it to give Ole Miss the 62-61 win in Gainesville.
For a school like Florida, this was a home loss that they couldn’t afford. For a team like Ole Miss, this was one of the signature wins that will keep them into the 2015 NCAA tournament picture.
In college basketball there are not many athletes within the SEC that are as exciting and fun to watch than Moody. He’s one of the players that make anyone change the channel to watch him when he’s playing because he’s a lot of fun to watch.
Name any player in the conference such as Kentucky’s Karl-Anthony Towns and Willie Cauley-Stein, Texas A&M’s Alex Caruso, LSU’s Jordan Mickey, or Vanderbilt’s Damian Jones–Moody is right there within their class and he’s just as much fun to watch.
Though Moody is known for his jumping ability, and athleticism, which gives him the talent to make breath defying dunks, the 5’10” junior from Kissimmee, Fla., is one of the players in the SEC that will leave anyone who watches his game scratching their heads.
People watch Moody and leave intrigued, not because he’s not talented (he’s far too talented for that to even become a thought), it’s because people want to know what position he should truly play. In college basketball we often get too caught up in the lure of the NBA Draft.
Fans want to know every little detail about a player before he gets drafted to one of their favorite teams. However, the true benchmark we really want to see is if a player’s game can translate to the next level. Because Moody is only 5’10”, he’s a victim of his height, but he makes sure that he’s not handicapped on the basketball court.
The second that Moody’s granted the chance to play basketball at the professional level he’s going to have to become a true point guard in order to make it to the NBA.
Because we do seem to get caught up in the pre draft analysis, the only aspect of Moody’s game that people need to know before the draft is that Moody is a true basketball player. Because of his size he’s going to get forced to play the point guard position but because of his skill he’s talented enough to make a living on the perimeter.
During this year there are not many players in the SEC who many people would want the basketball in their hands if a clutch shot has to get made.
Because he has to learn the point guard position, this season it has been a true joy to see the way that Moody has shared the responsibility of playing in a dual point guard system. Due to the fact that Ole Miss point guard Jarvis Summers is one of the best point guards in college basketball, Moody has had to share the point guard duties with Summer.
Thankfully because of the intelligence of Ole Miss head coach Andy Kennedy, Moody is normally the person who’s playing as the shooting guard in the two point guard lineup. Because of Kennedy’s decision to let Moody stay as the primary perimeter scorer in the offense it has lead to a lot of good games for Moody.
Some of the notable games that Moody has this season are as followed:
- 26 points, three rebounds, vs. Cincinnati
- 25 points, six rebonds, five assists, one steal vs. Western Kentucky
- 25 points, two rebounds, one assist, three steals vs. No. 1 Kentucky
- 26 points, four rebounds, one assist, two steals vs. Georgia.
- 19 points, two rebounds, five assists, two steals vs. Texas A&M
For a player like Moody, who transferred from Florida Atlantic University, to come into the SEC and dominate the SEC the way that he has is truly an amazing sight to see.
Hopefully because the Ole Miss Rebels are winning more games, and are on pace to win 20 games this season a lot of people are going to get a chance to get to know Moody.
The 2015 NCAA tournament is his for the taking.
Next: SEC: Time To Let Karl-Anthony Towns Loose
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