Basketball and babysitting: Perfect storm for Plum’s Moss brothers

By: Greg Macafee
Wednesday, May 27, 2020 | 2:40 PM

A lot of high school athletes have been trying to find a way to keep themselves busy during quarantine.

Some have started working at their summer jobs, others have decided to put a majority of their focus into training for next year and some have decided to enjoy their free time by relaxing. But that isn’t the case for Plum basketball players Connor and Cameron Moss. The pair of brothers decided they wanted to find a way to help their basketball program and the community.

With local summer camps canceled and the thought of parents needing some form of child care, the Moss brothers decided to combine child care with their love of basketball and have started babysitting kids, while also teaching them the fundamentals of basketball, including dribbling and shooting.

“We, me and my brother, are summer camp counselors, so with that being canceled and with the Plum basketball camp being canceled we figured parents would probably want their kids to do something,” Connor said. “Basketball is our level of expertise, and we didn’t want the kids to suffer because we are trying to build a program.

“I love interacting with the kids through basketball. So when you put the two (basketball and babysitting) together, it was kinda like the perfect storm.”

Kids of all ages and interests welcome! Not limited to basketball players. pic.twitter.com/5xgZLDfJ2F

— Connor Moss (@ConnorMoss02) May 20, 2020

The brothers run kids, who have ranged from fourth to seventh grade, through drills that focus on fundamentals, including ball-handling, shooting and getting to the hoop. Connor said the drills weren’t too difficult but will help their basic skills.

So far, the idea has been a success according to Connor, who said they have had a few parents who are interested for a couple of different reasons.

“We had one (Tuesday), and we have a couple next week,” Connor said. “It’s cool because most of the parents are like ‘My son loves watching you play, so it’d be cool if he got to work out with you.’ So, it’s kind of a win-win for everybody and we’re just trying to do our part to give back to the community.”

In order to adhere to social distancing guidelines during the coronavirus pandemic, the Moss’ have taken extra precautions for kids’ safety and have given parents the option for them to wear masks or not while running through drills.

“We have no problem complying with the parents’ wishes,” Connor said.

Teaching kids how to shoot, score and dribble won’t be the only action Connor gets on the basketball court this summer. But it’s definitely not as much as he was hoping for.

Connor, who averaged around 22 points per game this past year for the Mustangs, was hoping for a big summer leading into his senior year. He plays AAU basketball for PK Flash and was planning on attending a few national camps, including the Hoop Group Academic Camp, to increase his exposure for college. He also was hoping to visit a few schools to narrow down his decision.

But, because of the coronavirus pandemic, Connor’s recruitment has been limited to phone conversations with a few schools and setting up visits for when everything possibly opens up later this year.

“With the schools I’ve been looking into, like Division III schools, they don’t have the budget or the manpower to start recruiting you when you’re a freshman or sophomore, so this was the summer for me,” Connor said. “In terms of in-person stuff, like visiting campuses, it’s definitely suffered, but I’ve still been hearing from schools and have a few visits planned.”

With aspirations of becoming a criminal defense attorney, Connor has looked into high academic schools, including Amherst (Mass.), Colby and Carnegie Mellon. He wants to prepare himself for the future academically, while also continuing to play the game he loves.

In order to do the latter, Connor knows there are certain parts of his game he needs to work on. With a basketball hoop in his driveway and a younger brother who doubles as a good 1-on-1 opponent, he has been working on his game any chance he gets to improve his abilities and his athleticism.

“The biggest thing that colleges want to see is my quickness improve,” Moss said. “I’m not born with the greatest athletic ability. So I’ve been working hard on my overall skills, but just getting my athleticism up so I can defend at the next level.”

Greg Macafee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Greg by email at gmacafee@triblive.com or via Twitter .

Tags: Plum