Matt Thompson
Staff Writer
When Washtenaw Community College basketball coach Michael Mosley was asked the score after his teams first two games of the season last week, he cringed.
Not because they lost both games that night, but because the score – even winning and losing – isn’t the point he is trying to make coaching at WCC.
“I cringe because I don’t think that is what this is about,” Mosley said. “It’s about who showed up. Who came and participated. If these kids aren’t here and don’t have jobs – they are on the streets.”
Mosley, who has previous coaching experience at the Division III level, said when he went to community college he was not academically solid.
“I was a D- student,” he said. “I want to change that with these kids. I want basketball to help hold them accountable.”
Mosley is trying to do that as coach by making them enroll in classes and encouraging them to take more than just one class just to make them eligible to play. The team demands a 2.0 grade-point average to be eligible.
“It’s tough odds for them,” Mosley said. “I want to get them in the workforce. I want to prepare them for that – set good goals. They have to come to practice on time or else they don’t play.”
Mosley is trying to install things he said helped him grow. He said basketball made him be a better student, person and parent.
So when WCC lost by three points to one team and 22 on another in a doubleheader on July 11 in Wixom to two four-year schools that offer scholarships, he was not concerned. When asked if he was worried about competing with colleges that can offer scholarships, he was undeterred.
“I want to establish to these kids it is important to graduate,” he said when asked about his players on the court. “I want to challenge them to graduate.”
