Iowa basketball: Three possible landing spots for Isaiah Moss

Since announcing his transfer, we’ve heard little from former Iowa basketball player Isaiah Moss on his transfer intentions. Here are three options.

Although shocking, it shouldn’t come as a complete surprise that Isaiah Moss is leaving the program. With the returning talent from this year’s Iowa basketball team, Moss was likely going to be the fourth option on an offensively loaded team, and if I were him, I would personally be frustrated by the awkward amount of time spent on the bench for no apparent reason. Sometimes it is as if Fran McCaffery completely forgot about Moss as a 3 and D threat who can also slash.

Regardless, he is gone now, which leaves some room for speculation as to where he will go.

Here are two big factors to consider:

• The ability to play closer to his hometown of Chicago, Illinois has to be enticing. Although Iowa City is not that long of a drive, there are quite a few schools in the Chicago area that could use Moss’ talents.
• The ability to be the number one or, at the very least, two option in the offense, meaning he is likely heading to a mid-major program.

So what does that leave us with?

When looking at his 2015 recruiting profile, there are two teams specifically that stand out: DePaul and the University of Illinois-Chicago. Both are mid-major programs in the Chicago area.

Another, Loyola University, also fits the factors above. Here’s why each school would make sense.

DePaul – The Blue Demons are graduating their top three scorers, two of which are guards. The next three players consist of two forwards and a point guard. For a team that finished 19-17 this past season, Moss would provide a huge scoring threat.

UIC – The UIC Flames have a surprising amount of depth at guard considering their top three scorers from last season are all guards and will be returning for their senior season during the 2019-2020 season. That should rule this team out almost immediately. Good luck finding points in a crowded guard room.

Loyola – The Ramblers are just a year removed from playing in the Final Four, and last years team was on its way to another NCAA Tournament birth before getting upset in the MVC Tournament. More importantly, though, they are graduating their top two scoring guards leaving a void on the team that Isaiah Moss could instantly step in and fill. Lastly, out of the three teams here, Loyola represents the best chance to play in the NCAA Tournament again.

With that being said, it appears that Moss is at least entertaining the idea of just moving on to another major program according to Jon Rothstein.

Playing at one of those programs would certainly help his exposure if he is able to carve out a role as the number one or two scoring option, but it would definitely upset me to see him with the Gophers, Fighting Illini, or the Cyclones.

If he does decide to go the major school route as opposed to the mid-major options listed above, I sure hope it’s out of the Big Ten and out of the state.