Versatile forward Josiah Moseley opens up on Villanova commitment

Texas is a long way from the Main Line, so when Josiah Moseley made his official visit to Villanova two weeks ago, he initially wasn’t sure of what to expect.

He quickly fell in love with it.

“Right when I got there for the visit, you could really tell how much bigger basketball was at their school than it was at any other school I visited,” Moseley said. “Just by the energy and the vibes, basketball is sacred. Basketball is very, very serious at Villanova.”

The 6-foot-6, 205-pound forward committed to Villanova on Sunday, choosing the ‘Cats over the likes of USC, Georgia Tech, Illinois, and a dozen-plus other schools that offered him.

“The first day I watched the team practice, I was kind of shocked because their practice stood out from all the other practices I’ve seen,” Moseley said. “They practice a lot more fast-paced and a lot more intense, and that stuck out to me in a good way, because right now, that’s how our coach holds his practice — we practice fast-paced, getting out and running like that, so it was really good to see that.”

A standout at Stony Point High School in Round Rock, Texas, Moseley averaged 21.5 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 1.3 steals, and 2.4 blocks per game as a junior last season.

Moseley is a fringe four-star prospect. He’s rated a three-star recruit by 247 sports, and a four-star recruit by their composite rankings.

He is the third Villanova Class of 2024 commit in 10 days, joining Matthew Hodge and Malcolm Thomas.

“My strengths — my size, my versatility and ability to play, basically, all positions ‘1’ through ‘5’” Moseley said. “I have the ability to guard ‘2’ through ‘5,’ too. The coaches can put me anywhere on the court, and I’ll be able to play anywhere.”

He’ll fit right into Villanova’s position-less basketball philosophy, and he hopes to be among the next in line to keep the Wildcats’ run of developing talent and winning tradition.

“First thing we noticed or knew about ‘Nova was their past history producing successful players that play my position,” Moseley said. “And producing NBA players that play my position too, so it was a really good fit for me.”

While he’s a solid all-around talent that makes an impact on both ends of the court, Moseley is focusing on improving his ball-handling skills.

He boasts great handles for someone of his position, but he wants to be able to have ballhandling skills like a point guard. Moseley is also putting in more work to continue improving defensively for the college level.

Moseley is excited for his final high school season coming up, and beyond that, he can’t wait to be a part of the Villanova “family.”

“Definitely getting to know the players the most,” Moseley said of what he’s most excited for at Villanova. “Spending time with the team, and getting to know the other players. That’s a big thing for me, I feel like a lot of people don’t prioritize getting to know each other and think it’s just about winning and stuff like that, but I like to get to know people on more personal level, not even too much about basketball.”

When his time to be a Wildcat comes, what can fans expect from him?

“They’re going to expect me to basically give whatever I can give, 100%, all the time I’m on the court,” he said. “Bring a lot of energy and win some games.”