SYRACUSE, N.Y. (NCC News) – Justin Moss first picked up a basketball at the age of five and instantly fell in love with the game.
He then learned he could play the sport he loved, while getting an education. He worked hard to receive a free education. Moss received multiple offers from the Mid-American Conference.
Ultimately, he chose the University of Toledo, along with a teammate from his Amateur Athletic Union team.
“We were planning to go there together…that was our dream right there,” said Moss.
The dream of playing Division-I basketball quickly got cut short.
“Waking up at six a.m. every morning to go to practice and play a game and then have them tell you that you can no longer do the sport that you love,” said Moss.
He was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a rare heart disease that causes the walls of the heart chamber to become thicker than normal. This disease stopped Moss from living his dream, before it even started.
“Then I went to a specialist in Boston for my heart and that’s when they told me I could no longer play,” said Moss.
But after the doctors inserted a defibrillator, Moss was able to play basketball again. With the help of his former high school coach, Nate Oats, Moss attended Indian Hills Community College in Iowa.
After a season, Oats called again when he became the assistant coach at the University of Buffalo.
“It was an easy choice on my end…he was my high school coach and we played good together,” said Moss.
Moss progressed quickly with the Bulls. He was named MAC player of the year in 2015 after leading the conference in points scored. Shortly after, he began his professional career.
He played in seven different countries before moving back to the United States during the pandemic.
“Mike [Sugamusto] had his eye on [Justin] for a while. We knew he was in the TBL doing a great job…he was somebody that was on our radar,” said Kassandra Schneider, the vice president of the Syracuse Stallions.
As expected, Moss made a huge impact on the court and in just a few weeks was named to the first ever The Basketball League All-Star game.
“It’s not easy for anyone to come in mid-season…but he did more than what we expected,” said Schneider.
The Syracuse Stallions were eliminated from the playoffs on Friday, but Moss will be a part of the TBT Blue Collar U team representing the University of Buffalo.
His basketball journey isn’t over just yet.