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JON MARKS | Special to the JE
D on’t expect Michael Moshkovitz to become the eighth native
Israeli to make it to the NBA.

No, he said he doesn’t intend to follow the trail blazed by Omri
Casspi, Gal Mekel and his former national team teammate and current
Washington Wizard forward Deni Avdija, among others.

The 24-year-old University of Pennsylvania senior from Jerusalem,
who’s spent the last two seasons playing for Steve Donahue’s Quakers,
said his hoops career may be well nearing its end.

“This is my senior year, my last year here, and the way I feel right
now, it’s probably the last year I play basketball,” said the 6-foot, 7-inch
Moshkovitz, who started 16 games last season, averaging 5.1 points and
4.7 rebounds but has seen his playing time greatly diminished this year.

“I feel like I want to focus on something else. For now, I want to stay here
(in the U.S.), get a job and some experience. I’m considering New York
and the West Coast. San Francisco might be a good place.”
Not that he has any complaints about Philadelphia, other than he
hasn’t gotten out to as many places as he’d like, including the Weitzman
National Museum of American Jewish History. But considering the road
that got him here — being “recruited” out of Kankakee (Illinois) Junior
College via Zoom amid the pandemic — the soft-spoken “Mosh” as his
teammates call him, has enjoyed the experience.

10 DECEMBER 15, 2022 | JEWISHEXPONENT.COM
That’s because it would’ve been easy to
simply give up and stay home.

“The biggest reason why Israelis don’t
go to schools in the U.S. is because you
have to do your army service first,”
explained Moshkovitz, who’s averaging
just 1.9 points and 2.2 rebounds for the
Quakers. “I was in for two years, eight
months which is required time for males.

I was in a special program for athletes
because I played ball. I was a weight room
instructor on a base in Jerusalem, right
near my house.”
He completed his service in April 2019,
too late to apply to Division I schools.

“I had a friend who I used to play
with who went to community college at
Kankakee,” Moshkovitz said.” “I played
one year there and lived with my friend
and another Israeli. That was my first
time in the U.S. Kankakee was such a
different place. Everything was different
-- the people, the food, the stores. I had a
really tough time, and I don’t think I met
a single Jewish person.”
During the season, Moshkovitz started
considering Division I schools, empha-
sizing some in the Ivy League. He was
leaning toward Columbia University
when the pandemic hit, at which point
school was canceled and he headed home.

“There was a complete lockdown in
Israel,” said Michael (pronounced Mik-
hail) — who once met Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the
Cheltenham High School grad, after his
Israeli Youth team won gold at the 2017
European Championships. “You couldn’t
leave your house for more than a 100-
meter radius. I don’t think I touched a
basketball for a month. I tried talking to
schools, but it got much harder because
of the time difference. At one point, I
gave up on the idea and signed up for
Hebrew University.

“But then I talked with my mom
(Ayelet), and we decided to give it one last
try. I texted the head coach at Columbia.

He never replied. She emailed the assis-
tant at Penn, Coach (Nat) Graham. He
replied and said, ‘We’d like to have a
Zoom call with you.’ That was the first
time I spoke with Coach Donahue.”
Donahue told Moshkovitz that he’d
seen tapes of all his games and wanted
him to come to Penn. But when the Ivies
canceled all sports in 2020, he remained
home, taking classes virtually. Not until
well into 2021 did Moshkovitz finally
arrive. The transition was difficult.

“Last year was my first year play-
ing, and it started pretty rough,” said
Moshkovitz, the second oldest among
two brothers and a sister. “It took me a
while to adjust, I think, because of the
combination of being rusty and the dif-
ference in the game from community
college. “The second half was much, much
better. I gained some confidence and,
because of some injuries, I had to start. I
think with our offense my game fits that
position. What I do best is pass. I can
rebound, play good defense and score
when we need it.”
Yet Moshkovitz has come off the bench
this season, though Donahue insists he
hasn’t lost confidence in him.

“I think the role for him has changed
— sometimes from game-to-game,”
said Donahue, who played Moshkovitz
a season-low two minutes in the Dec. 10
77-57 win over Temple. “The thing about
Michael is he’s so versatile.

“He can play against bigger guys, yet
can guard quicker, smaller guys. He was
the No. 1 assist-turnover ratio guy in the
Ivies last year. He can really pass. He’s
very smart, has a high IQ and is a tough
defender who does all the little things.”
He’s also someone who won’t question
his coach’s decisions.

“I don’t think starting or not is the
most important thing,” said Moshkovitz,
who’s majoring in cognitive science and
computer science and wants to be a com-
puter engineer. “I feel my thing with the
team now is to help whenever I can. I
respect every decision and if it means
playing less I’ll do my best when I get the
chance.” As for being a student on campus
with a large Jewish community, that was
unexpected. “I was surprised to find out how big
the Jewish community was at Penn,”
said Mosh, who attends Hillel meetings
and goes to Shabbat services when his
schedule permits. “I’ve made some good
friends, which is nice. Having this Jewish
community here is amazing. I can talk
about things related to my life in Israel
and people understand.” JE
Jon Marks is a freelance writer.

Photo by Jon Marks
Michael Moshkovitz