Player Profiles: Eric Mosley - St. Bonaventure
This season, College Chalktalk will be highlighting players from around the nation in both BCS and non-BCS conferences who are deserving of ink. As we continue with the series, we check-in with Eric Mosley of the St. Bonaventure Bonnies.
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Doug Potter, Contributor
Injuries can often handcuff a team and create many unanswered questions given their impact upon team depth. In the case of the St. Bonaventure Bonnies, 6-5 through 11 games, Eric Mosley, a 5-foot-11 junior guard could be an answer to his team's scoring woes (currently just 207th in the nation scoring with 66.9ppg).
Mosley is a scoring point who enters his first season in Olean, NY after playing junior college ball at Cincinnati State Technical and Community College where he averaged 26.5 points per game. (Get the man some shots!) But when senior guard Michael Davenport suffered a season-ending left shoulder injury on December 10th against Canisius, SBU's options in the backcourt dwindled, but also opened a door. Walking through that door appears to be Mosley. In the last three games, the Bonnies have averaged 75 points per contest as a team, with Mosley right in the thick of it.
Since the Davenport injury, Mosley has played 24 minutes per game
compared with just 17.4 minutes per game previously. Although
not a two guard like Davenport, the increase in Mosley's minutes
can be attributed to him being the better offensive threat at
the point guard spot for the Bonnies (Charlon Kloof the other
point). His offensive workload has increased (a season
high 14 field goal attempts versus NC State) and his demeanor has
also changed. As shown by his last second first half
jumper and clutch free throws with 3.4 seconds left to tie the
NC State game, Mosley is adopting the offensive “killer
instinct” the Bonnies need from a second scoring option -
particularly with A-10 play right around the corner.
While his shooting percentages against Mark Gottfried’s Wolfpack were nothing to get excited about (5-14 FG), the Louisville, KY native seems to be taking the reins as the team's second scorer behind first-team All-Atlantic 10 performer, Andrew Nicholson. The guard carries a scoring average of 8.0ppg and shoots it at a 45% clip from inside the arc and a 35.7% clip from beyond.
As Mosley continues to adapt to the defensive length and quickness he faces at the D-1 level, there will be some growing pains. But his increase in playing time figures to shorten that timetable. With St. Bonaventure only eight days away from entering conference play (Jan. 4th vs. George Washington) the need for production from multiple spots is becoming more evident. Head coach Mark Schmidt and Bonnie fans everywhere should look no further than Eric Mosley to provide a much needed spark and eventually walk – no, run - through the wide open door we like to call opportunity.
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Photos courtesy St. Bonaventure Athletics
