Moses looks to part the orange sea at Prairie

CEDAR RAPIDS - We're still waiting for James Moses to put on an orange suit for a game. Don't laugh because it might be coming.

Always a snappy dresser, Moses had a red number - including shoes - he'd pull out for big games when he was an assistant at Cedar Rapids Washington. The closest the first-year Cedar Rapids Prairie boys' basketball coach has come to completely matching his new school's colors is an orange dress shirt and tie he wore underneath a tannish suit coat during last Friday's Prairie-Washington game.

"I have a nice little wardrobe," Moses said with a smile. "I've got the orange suit at home marinating."

This isn't about the clothes or the trademark sucker he chews on before and during games. Moses is attempting to turn around a Prairie program that ended an unsightly 53-game Mississippi Valley Conference losing streak last season.

The former University of Iowa guard was brought in to create some excitement about the sport in a school district that has had its fair share of players and potential players transfer to other schools. Prairie goes into its game tonight against Linn-Mar with just a 1-5 record, but it's a start.

The Hawks were 2-19 last season.

"I'm enjoying it," Moses said. "I'm fortunate to have good people with me. I'm fortunate to have kids that are willing to learn, kids that want to get better. I knew coming in that it was going to take some time. But I'm excited to get these kids a taste of what I've been able to learn (over the years)."

There does seem to be a future here. Forward Matt MacDougall (13.0 points per game) and guards Jacob Aune (8.2 PPG) are the club's leading scorers, and they're both juniors. Word is there's talent coming up in the lower grades, too.

No question this is an improved team, and Moses does have a passion for teaching the game. His halftime "speech" last Friday lasted so long, the Hawks went straight from the locker room to their bench to begin the second half because they had no time for warmup shots.

"When you practice and play a lot of basketball, sometimes information is power," Moses explained. "When you're going through a routine, the routine is already there. But if you find a rhythm within the game, you're trying to execute whatever defensively or getting a rebound or getting a steal or getting an assist, making a layup, setting a screen. All those intangibles.

"Sometimes you find that at halftime, if you don't get the opportunity to shoot, sometimes you play a little bit better. You concentrate better, trying to internalize some of the things the coach is expecting of you."

In the lane

- If you haven't noticed, Jarrod Uthoff is off to a great start to the season. The Cedar Rapids Jefferson senior and University of Wisconsin signee set a school record with 44 points last Saturday night against Marion and followed that performance with 40 points Tuesday night at Dubuque Hempstead.

He's averaging a cool 31.8 points for the Class 4A third-ranked J-Hawks (4-0), who have a biggie tonight at No. 10 Cedar Rapids Washington (3-1).

- Keota fired the first big shot in the South Iowa Cedar League with a 44-34 "upset" at Lynnville-Sully on Tuesday night. The Eagles (5-0) entered the week ranked ninth in Class 1A and L-S was No. 2.

Junior forward Casey Sieren had 19 points for Keota. He leads the team with a 17-point average.