Scott Central family loses treasured member

Family isn't measured by just your bloodline.

Sometimes, you don't share a last name or even the same color.

Whether you realize it at the time or not, it's a special bond being part of a family.

You celebrate together. You learn from one another. And, unfortunately, you grieve with one another.

The family that bleeds orange is grieving with one another this week as they remember how one of it's members touched all of their lives after his unfortunate passing.

The name Larry Mosley won't show up on many websites. It's not plastered on banners or giant murals either. Mr. Mosley, as I grew up calling him, wouldn't have it that way.

Mr. Mosley was a custodian for Scott County Central for as long as anyone could remember. He took over Scott Central's grade school basketball program in 1980 when his son, Mark, was in the third grade.

Under Mr. Mosley's 25-plus year watch, the Scott Central elementary basketball program expanded from grades 1-6. He also developed a girls program too.

He wasn't in it for the money or recognition. He didn't do it because he had to. Mr. Mosley did it simply for his family. His SCC family.

It's really hard to explain the closeness alumni from Scott County Central have with one another. We're all bound together by our love of a game and the small, rural communities or farm land we grew up on.

I'm sure it's the same for other schools as well, but I find it hard to imagine they share the same connection with everyone in the entire school as Scott Central does.

What can I say? It's a Braves thing.

Most of our memories together at SCC come from watching or playing the game of basketball.

My love of sports came from attending Scott Central -- starting with, of course, basketball.

Mr. Mosley took it to another level.

Now, when most people think of Scott Central basketball, one name and a lot of hardware usually come to mind.

If Ronnie Cookson had an understudy, Mr. Mosley was it. Although, Mr. Mosley preferred to stay away from the stage.

Of all the great talent that came in and out of the gym doors following 1980 -- and even the ones who never saw the floor -- Mr. Mosley taught them the way of Scott Central basketball

Every child that attended Scott Central knew where he needed to be when Mr. Mosley yelled, "Press! Press! Press!" We knew the rotations of the 3-2 and 2-1-2 zones and no one on the floor liked hearing, "Sub!" coming from the sidelines only the way he could shout it.

We had the basics of what would turn out to be poetry in motion, later down the road, mastered by the time we could tie our own sneakers.

Mr. Mosley was never given money for the countless hours he spent inside the gym with what would seem like 50 kids all trying to dribble one basketball.

Every Saturday morning, from 8 a.m. to noon, Mr. Mosley held basketball practice. I wouldn't miss it -- even though it probably would have been for the better of the team if I had.

It really didn't matter the skill set or how many jump shots you could hit -- every kid got a chance thanks to Mr. Mosley and we all had fun simply learning how to play a game we loved so much.

There's no way to calculate how many lives he helped shape. How many kids he helped steer away from a bad direction or even how many he drove to and from games because they had no other way to get there.

As I sit here and think about all of the practices I attend because of what I do for a living and the games I go to, whether it's basketball or not, I honestly can't think of anyone who did or does what Mr. Mosley did.

All of his free time, all of the sacrifices he made and all of the effort he put into the Scott Central basketball program will never be duplicated or ever go unappreciated.

I never scored many baskets while playing for Mr. Mosley. And even for a pudgy white kid playing with some of what would turn out to be some of the areas best basketball players, Mr. Mosley didn't treat you any different.

Whether you could beat people off the break or hand out water, you were still part of the team. Part of the family.

That's what I'll miss the most about Mr. Mosley.

Every Scott Central basketball game that I attended, Mr. Mosley would always greet me with his huge smile and we'd always talk about the game we love. It never was for very long. Five minutes at the most. But I always made it a point to seek him out.

The joy that brightened my first coach's face by simply mentioning the game of basketball will be missed. But, Mr. Mosley will never be forgotten.

I'm not sure if anyone has took the time to count all of the trophies, banners or plaques that have been won by all of the Scott Central basketball teams. Most are displayed in the trophy case in the gymnasium lobby or hung on the gymnasium walls.

You won't find Mr. Mosley's name on any of them. But, in a way, you will.

For nearly every student who has touched a basketball at Scott County Central, Mr. Mosley was the one who showed them what to do with it.

So as you look up and see the names inside Ronnie Cookson Gymnasium, know that Mr. Mosley, more than likely, helped guide one of his SCC family members to that spot on the wall.

And, although he wouldn't be comfortable with the idea, alongside every kid he mentored and every player he helped develop, Mr. Mosley will too hold a spot on that wall and inside the hearts of the SCC family.