Karin Moss’ time on the Bulls didn’t start with a MAC Championship, NCAA appearance or even 20 wins. In 2012, she started on a Buffalo team that was struggling under brand-new head coach in Felisha Legette-Jack.
It was not ideal for a player who had just committed to UB.
“People don’t realize how bad Buffalo looked back then,” Moss said. “From somebody weighing their options on where to play, people would not tell you UB was the place to be. It would have been the greatest mistake of my life if I didn’t come, though.”
Moss was the sole senior on the Bulls’ first MAC Championship season four years later. In her time at UB, she became a top contributor on defense and played for University of Durham in the U.K. after graduation. Moss joined the team again in 2017 as director of basketball operations, in which she prepares equipment and performs other tasks outside of the game.
As both player and staff member, Moss saw firsthand the turn-around of a program that recently came off a Sweet 16 appearance.
“When I first took over the team, we stunk,” Legette-Jack said. “We won 12 games that season. I knew the only thing that was going to keep the players here and getting people committed was getting them to buy into what we can do.”
Coaches said they regard Moss, a 5-foot-4-inch former guard, as a key figure in establishing the success Buffalo has today.
“I really was not sure if I was going to come to UB,” Moss said.“When coach Legette-Jack took over, I was up in the air on coming here. Then she called me, and we talked for about an hour. I could feel her energy on the phone and just felt I needed to be here.”
Yet, Moss said her freshman year was a rough experience. Though she believed in where the team would go, she did not understand her role. At the start, all she wanted to do was shoot the ball.
“You are not going to be the player you were in high school,” Moss said. “You are not going to go in there and take a bunch of shots and get 15 points for your team. There is a role we can all do that will be the most effective for the team. I just hadn’t found that role.”
Moss said her teammates helped her early on. It was a collective effort of support, but she pointed out current assistant coach Kristen Sharkey–– a forward on the team at the time –– as her biggest supporter. They became roommates and formed a bond by playing together. Moss said her relationship with Sharkey today is sister-like.
“We are super close,” Sharkey said. “I think that’s something that whole team shared, and we still have on the team. We still get together as a team, with anyone who still is in the area.”
Sharkey joined the team as a coach shortly after an ACL injury her sophomore year. Sharkey said while transitioning into being a coach, she saw Moss grow as both a person and player on the court.
“It didn’t come quickly,” Moss said. “I knew I had some speed, but I didn’t know how to use it. Eventually, I started to focus on my defense and it clicked. In my junior year, … they started to call me an ‘Energizer Bunny’ on defense.”
Both Moss and Sharkey credited the team’s success to the “focus on the person.”
Legette-Jack said the focus creates an atmosphere of family and support: an environment that can grow “strong and confident women.”
“We focus on respect within the program, and that is big for our players,” Sharkey said. “They call me Mrs. Sharkey, they call our guy in communications, [Louie Spina], Mr. Louie. Just showing respect to those who are supporting you is huge for character. We want fantastic women here because we know they make fantastic basketball players.”
Sharkey said the family environment helped her to move forward in her transition into being a coach quicker. Moss also credited her time on the team for helping her succeed in spheres outside of basketball.
After graduation, Moss went to the University of Durham to play in the collegiate league and earn her master’s degree in supply chain logistics.
“Durham was a good experience, but I realized I needed to start to think of my life post-basketball,” Moss said. “Sharkey said I should think about coming back to Buffalo after Durham, so I did. My plan was to start my own business here. I was going to start a clothing line.”
Moss took the director position upon her return to Buffalo. After interviews with the team, she started for the 2017-18 season. In her first season as director, the Bulls went 29-6 and made it to a program-first Sweet 16 appearance.
Legette-Jack said that the family environment goes beyond just the years on the team, now having two players she coached in Buffalo on the staff.
“She has done an amazing job. Our first season with her, we make it to the Sweet 16. What more proof do you need?” Legette-Jack said. “We don’t even have managers for booking things like playtime, food and travel, and [Moss] will do it all. That is the part of the team no one sees that I believe is intangible to our success.”
Players have come to appreciate a manager who is familiar with the team and the game.
“Moss is great,” said junior forward Courtney Wilkins. “She can’t get on the court because she is not a coach, but everything she brings as a manager is just invaluable. She fit in so well, and you can tell she values the system here.”
Moss said she is not planning a long-term stay with the Bulls, but she is more than happy to be back with her “basketball family.” Moss said she will always have the support of her teammates and knows they will help her in any endeavor.
“I don’t see her being a coach,” Legette-Jack said. “She doesn’t desire it. I see her working on her own fashion line or working over in California with a tech company. She is the kind of person who can succeed at anything she applies herself too.”
Thomas Zafonte is the senior sports editor and can be reached at thomas.zafonte@ubspectrum.com and @Thomas_Spectrum
Thomas Zafonte is a senior English major. He is a UB sports fan and enjoys traveling around Buffalo.
