How Coach John Mosley from Last Chance U is Leaving a Basketball Legacy of Servant Leadership

“They’re afraid, and I have to help them not be afraid.” So said John Mosley in the trailer for the second season of the Netflix show Last Chance U: Basketball. In his 11 years as head basketball coach at his alma mater, John has not only won conference titles and made it to the doorstep of winning state championships, but he has also changed the lives of the young men who play for him.

Growing up in LA, John remembered seeing a neighbor shot in a drive-by and not thinking too much about it because such violence was so common. Later, when some guys from a rival gang shot up the front of his high school, John was on the way to get the neighborhood’s OGs and take revenge. But he had a moment of epiphany in which he asked himself, “What am I doing?” He stopped, and the rest of a new life started.

A few days later, John saw a sign for basketball tryouts and went from hanging around gang members to meeting teammates and learning from caring coaches. The game came to him quickly, and John soon progressed to the point where college basketball offered a viable way out. He played point and shooting guard at East LA College (ELAC) and then at The Master’s College (now University).

Changing Lives through Hoops

He had grown up with two wonderful parents who went to church, but it wasn’t until John served in impoverished favelas of Brazil that he forged a mission-driven faith. He realized that as much as he was moved by the plight of Brazil’s poor, there were people who desperately needed help in his own neighborhood back in LA. So he went home and started a faith-based program for inner city kids.

“There are so many people not focused on our youth,” John said. “They're consumed with themselves instead of thinking about serving. I get exhausted every day, but these young people come in, cry, and tell me what they’ve been through. I feel like we can help them through it.”

To do so, John went into coaching after playing pro basketball in Brazil and Australia. He first served as an assistant to his old coach at TMU, and then at the University of California at Bakersfield. Soon, his other alma mater, ELAC, came calling.

“It was supposed to be a quick stop between Division I jobs,” John said. “It was my first experience as a head coach, and ELAC just wanted me to give the kids a good experience. But I told them, ‘We’re going to try to win.’ We won the school’s first ever playoff game and were ranked number six in the state at one point. It was a part-time job, and I was making pennies. But if you don’t win, you lose. So we won.”

You’re Mine for Life

To supplement his initial low salary, John took several part-time jobs on campus and then assumed a role with ELAC’s Male Leadership Academy. He has since become a tenured professor of physiology and teaches spin classes while also taking good care of his wife and children. He’s still at ELAC 11 seasons later, turning down more high-profile jobs to continue living out his purpose even on days where everything feels too heavy to bear.

“The day before Thanksgiving break, I led a spin class in the morning and gave my physiology students their midterm,” John said. “Then I sat in traffic driving the team bus through heavy rain to an away game in Santa Monica. It felt like I was in a coma, and I forgot that the parking structure wasn’t high enough for the van to pass under. So I drove it right into the wall. That’s what we go through. Now I’ve got to find four guys a place to live before school starts on Monday. Sometimes I want to say I’ve had enough, but then I look in the eyes of a young man who’s going through the same things I did as a kid, and that’s what keeps me going.”  

John demonstrated his passion for helping people in season one of Last Chance U Basketball. It might have been his yelling in practice that got the headlines from the Netflix show, but it was in the quiet moments with his players and their families that John’s love for the young men in his charge shone through.

“Deshaun’s mom was dying from stage four cancer,” John remembered. “The three of us were sitting talking in my office and she wanted to talk to me alone. He went out and when it was just us, she looked me right in the eye and didn’t even have to say anything. I said, ‘Your son will be fine. I’m going to take care of him.’ I told Deshaun recently, ‘You’re mine for life.’”  

For as loud as he gets during games and in practice, many people would think that John is over on the sideline cursing up a storm. But he is careful to never swear, even when a player or ref is exasperating.

“One of the ways I minister to these guys is by showing them what it looks like to live a better life,” he said. “As a man of faith, I feel like there’s a camera on me 24/7, so I need to set a good example. I don’t curse and I pray for my players. I truly love them all. I’ve turned down opportunities that could be worth millions of dollars because God wants me here at ELAC serving these young men through basketball.”

Challenging Players to Win on the Court and in Life

The first season of Last Chance U: Basketball concluded on an unsatisfying note. After losing just one game all season, winning their conference yet again, and being the favorite going into the state tournament, the ELAC squad led by Deshaun, KJ Allen, and Joe Hampton was on the bus raring to go get the gold. But John received a call telling him that all remaining games and practices were canceled. The season was over, and with it, the team’s best shot at an elusive state title. Yet for John, coaching isn’t about wins and losses or trophies.

“I’ve gotten over myself to the point that the accolades don’t matter,” he said. The ability to plant seeds and impact young men does. If I get celebrated and a trophy is sitting on my mantle, that’s as far as it goes. But getting these young men out and moving them on goes a lot farther. Being able to use our gifts to serve is what we’re called to do. What’s the good of getting rich if you can’t share it? If I was a Hall of Fame coach and won all these games, that doesn’t really matter. I’d rather be able to say I got 1,000 young men to college.”

To help his players not be afraid anymore, John and assistant coaches like Robert Robinson (now head coach at MiraCosta College), Ken Hunter, Frankie Aguilar, and Levi Wenrich make them go through the fire in practice and keep them accountable with their schoolwork so they stay eligible. Sometimes John has to run them out of the gym or calls a guy out if he’s dogging it in a drill. But behind closed doors, he’s crying with them, giving an encouraging word when it’s needed most, and empowering them to become responsible, capable young lions who thrive in adversity.

“On the court, I want them to be Basketball Strong, but you can put anything you do in front of that second word,” John said. “In church, I want you to be faith strong. Get locked in because winning is essential. I want to make sure you win at everything you do in life, so whatever you’re doing, play at a high level and keep grinding.”

Hear the rest of Coach Mosley’s story on The Basketball Strong Podcast episode, then check out his website www.coachjohnmosley.com.

And be sure to subscribe to the show on iTunes or Spotify so you get every episode immediately.