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Perhaps
already perspicuous, Ty Moss wants to make
sure it's crystal clear. Yes,
he's more than flattered about his
individual enshrinement in the Centralia
Sports Hall of Fame. Of course, he
wouldn't be standing where he is tonight his
teammates, those who flanked him on the
hardwood, diamond and gridiron in the mid to
late 90's at CHS. The
fact that the entire 1997-98 Orphans team he
helped guide to the Elite Eight will be
joining him in the hall makes this occasion
extra special for Moss. "It's
an awesome honor and I'm proud of it, but
its more important to me that my entire team
is going in," he said. "It's
one thing to go in as an individual, but I
grew up with those guys. We went
through the grind together. The blood,
the sweat, the tears, it was all of that
with us. Those are my brothers. "We're
going in as a team and that's what I'm most
honored with." Ty
Moss arrived in Centralia fresh from the
Hawkeye state when he was in eighth
grade. His father Rick Moss coached at
Iowa University as an assistant under head
basketball coach Tom Davis from 1987 until
he left in 1993 for the prep ranks and the
Orphans' head coaching gig. "I
never knew if I'd play at the college level,
so I didn't know if I'd get to play for my
dad," Ty Moss said. "When he
left Iowa and] took the Centralia job I got
the opportunity to play for him. That
was a big thrill for me and one of the
things that stands out the most when I look
back." A
precursor to future success, Moss helped the
Centralia Junior High School basketball team
win the Illinois state championship.
But once high school hit Moss faced
truculence from some who believed he only
made the varsity team because his father was
the coach. "I
wasn't well received at the beginning
because I was still the new kid in
town," Moss said. "But I was
a motivated and competitive kid. There
was a little chip on my shoulder to prove
people wrong and show them that there's a
reason why I'm playing." Any
doubt that Moss didn't belong in an Orphans
jersey as a frosh was erased when he came
off the bench to help Centralia take down
O'Fallon on the road in a battle of top-10
ranked teams. Moss hit the
game-winning shot. "I
had only had garbage minutes up to that
point," Moss said. "I was
forced to come in because the starting point
guard Hector Barnes broke his wrist.
We were down 2 points with about 30 seconds
left in the game. We called a timeout
and drew up a play that fell apart.
With about five seconds left I ended up with
the ball behind the 3-poont line. I
didn't know what to do, so I just launched
it and it went in." Mobbed
by teammates, Moss earned the trust of
others and himself. "That
was my breakout as far as where the
confidence really boosted for me," he
said. "I started having more
confidence to shoot, more confidence to
drive, more confidence to make passes and
things like that. I knew the older
guys were thinking, 'this kid is going to be
alright' " From
there it was history. Moss made his
mark, not only in basketball but in baseball
and football as well for the Orphans -
holding the accolade of being named
All-Conference in the South Seven in all
three sports. His
accomplishments are prolific. In
hoops he became the fifth leading career
scorer at CHS in racking up 1,508 career
points. The Orphans compiled a 96-21
record the four years he was on the
team. He was lauded first team All
-State by the Illinois Basketball Coaches
Association his senior season. On
the football field he rushed for 434 yards
and three touchdowns during the '97 campaign
and caught 18 passes for 308 yards and 3
more scores. For
the baseball team he was an all-conference
performer for three of his four varsity
seasons and received the CHS
outstanding defensive award in 1998. After
high school Moss generated interest from
Miami University and Boston College's
basketball programs, but the idea of being
redshirted did not appeal to him. He
wanted to play right away. He
committed to the University of
Missouri-Kansas City but backed out and
instead opted for the D-II school of
Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville
so he could compete in both basketball and
baseball. "I
though, "Man, it'd be cool if I could
play baseball and basketball, be close to
home and be able to have my family watch me
play." Moss said. The
5'11 Moss currently holds the SIU-E free
throw career percentage record at .869. After
graduating a Couger Moss went on to teach
and coach basketball at Carbondale High
School. He now lives in the Kansas
City area with his wife and two children,
5-year old daughter Tatum and 4-year old son
Talin. Moss
has stepped away from coaching and currently
sells health insurance for Washington
National. He
enjoys what he's doing but hasn't ruled out
a possible return to coaching. He
hasn't forgotten what he accomplished at
Trout Gym as an Orphan. I
had some success," Moss said, "but
I had a lot of help along the way." bcorrigan@mornigsentinel.com
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