Asheville, N.C., native Roy Williams told fellow Roberson High grad Christian Moody he would fall in love with Kansas University if he decided to become a Jayhawk.
Turns out Williams, the former KU men’s basketball coach, was right.
“It’s the best place to play college basketball … definitely,” said Moody, KU’s 6-foot-8, 215-pound sophomore forward, who had so much fun his freshman season he never once considered heading back home with new North Carolina boss Williams last April.
“I got to go to a Final Four and actually play in the Final Four. Not many guys can say that,” said Moody, who states he has had an even grander time this season.
“It’s been tons of fun,” said Moody who this year has discovered what it’s like to play during crunch time of games, not just the end of blowouts.
Because of Wayne Simien’s groin injury, David Padgett’s foot injury and Jeff Graves’ tardiness issues, Moody has gone from seldom-used player to a relied-upon walk-on player.
During the regular season, Moody, who received a scholarship second semester as reward for his play, played seven or more minutes in nine games, logging 20 minutes in a home win over Nebraska.
“Coach (Bill Self) says I’ve done a pretty good job, which makes me feel good,” said Moody, who played 49 minutes in 21 games last year but 134 minutes in 20 games entering the postseason this year.
“I started the year hoping to see a little more time than last year. Overall, I wanted to be known as a practice player who tried to make the other players better. But when Dave got hurt and Wayne strained his groin, it gave me a chance to step up at practice, change to the blue team (first team) and get some experience.
“I guess I did some good things in practice in coach’s eyes, and that helped get me some time.”
Moody — who scored four points in 11 minutes against Fort Hays State and played four minutes against Santa Barbara and four against Binghamton in the nonconference season — played six minutes in KU’s Big 12 Conference opener at Colorado.
That’s the game in which Padgett played just nine minutes because of foul problems.
After sitting against Kansas State, Moody played no fewer than six minutes in KU’s next five league games, grabbing three boards versus Kansas State and scoring a career-high seven points at home against Texas Tech.
He played eight minutes against Nebraska and Iowa State, scoring three points versus the Cyclones.
“My goal is to go in and get rebounds,” said Moody, who had four in the 20-minute outing against Nebraska. “Also to play the best defense I can and try to run the offense — just be solid and do what I can to help the team.”
He has helped a lot, a fact that hasn’t surprised KU point guard Aaron Miles.
“I have a lot of confidence in him, probably more than he has in himself,” Miles said. “I see him contribute every day in practice, so I knew he could do it in the games. Our whole team has confidence in him.
“There’s no reason to not believe in him. He can put on the floor, shoot it, run. He rebounds and plays hard. He needs to believe in himself, because he will help us this year and two after that.”
Moody — he calls the charge he took in crunch time of an overtime win over Iowa State his favorite play of the year — says he’s working on the confidence thing.
“I think Aaron probably has more confidence in a lot of guys than guys have in themselves,” Moody said. “Coach said I need to gain confidence, too. I think what he means is when I get stronger that will build my confidence. If that means more minutes in the future, then it’s what I can do for the team.”
Moody, who weighed 192 pounds his freshman year, is up to 216 pounds.
“I’d like to be 230, actually,” Moody said. “That would be a good weight for me.”
Self is eager for a lot of his players to get in the weight room this offseason, including Moody.
“I told Christian earlier this year, ‘We may have screwed up by not red-shirting you,”‘ Self said. “A guy like Christian who is paying his own way … you are delaying the family getting him out of school if you red-shirt him. It’s not a good idea unless you think he can become a solid contributor.
“In one way I’m glad we didn’t because we’ve needed him. I definitely see Christian as being a fourth big guy eventually. You’ve got to play four for the most part, though we’ve played five. I think he will be a guy who gets minutes.”
Moody showed Self his athleticism in a home win over Colorado when he sprinted down-court, accepted a pinpoint bounce pass from Miles and converted.
“It was a great play,” Self said. “We have guys that can make that catch, but still we don’t have a bunch of them. That play in itself showed what type of athlete he is. He’s running full speed, catching and finishing. Christian is a great athlete.”
Not only has Moody become a fan favorite in Lawrence, but folks back home in Asheville are paying attention, too.
“They watch all our games on TV. They’re proud of me,” Moody said. “The columnist in the Asheville Citizen Times has been excited, I think, about me playing more. It’s really exciting. It’s awesome being here.”
