Last Chance U: Basketball

    Last Chance U is a Netflix series about community colleges giving former high school athletes a chance to be great if they lost their first chance of greatness. The first couple of seasons were about football. But this year they've moved into the domain of basketball. 

    This season of Last Chance U follows East Los Angeles Community College in their quest to win the state championship. This first episode focuses on head coach John Mosely as well as introducing the players and their backgrounds.

     To start off the main group of players is Deshaun Highler. He's the captain of the team and is a real force on the court. He displays great leadership and is the backbone of this East LA team. Next is Malik Muhammad. Malik acts as the team's big man and is a dominant defender. You can often find him grabbing rebounds in the paint and chasing down blocks. Arguably the best player on the team is KJ Allen. Allen was a named LA player of the year his senior year, but because of his grades, he was forced to attend ELAC. Lastly, there is Joe Hampton. A very skilled forward who originally went to Penn State, but made some questionable decisions that landed him on his couch at home. But luckily he was able to find a home at ELAC.

    For the past seven years, Coach Mosley has been able to turn the ELAC basketball program around but has been unable to clear the last hurdle. And that is the championship. Each year he has made the playoffs but has never made it to the big dance. This year he intends to change that. With the most talent he's had in years Mosley believes this team will be able to get over the hump. But Basketball isn't the only hurdle these players need to get over. 

    Each player's life when it comes to school and home life is a struggle. A few of these players live in places that are less than ideal conditions. Three of the players all live in the same one-bedroom apartment. Some of them haven't even lived on their own yet. School is also a problem. A few of the players such as Malik and KJ struggle with their academics. But this is where Coach Mosley and his staff thrive. 

    Coach Mosley knows what it's like to be them. At one point in his life, he was them. So he knows how to help them. He knows what each player struggles with and where each player thrives. He knows that Deshaun can be a jerk at times and struggles to sleep. Or that Joe can turn into a hot head when things don't go his way. And it is because of that that he is able to bring this group of guys together as a cohesive unit.

    This first episode far exceeded my expectations. The raw emotion that was displayed throughout the episode was just amazing. What really hit me was how relatable the players were. Having to juggle school and sports can be a hard thing to do. Procrastination sets in and that make it worse. Overall this was an amazing opener to the season and I look forward to watching the rest.