Last Chance U, Netflix’s riveting docuseries, explores the little-known universe of junior college athletics. JC football was the subject during the show’s initial five seasons. In its sixth season, Last Chance focuses on the JC basketball team representing East Los Angeles College (ELAC).
While ELAC is in LA, it’s far from the glamour of Hollywood. Gritty is the appropriate adjective. ELAC’s John Mosley is the focal point of the show. He’s the team’s head coach and spiritual adviser, not necessarily in that order. When he’s not coaching, Mosley is a preacher.
ELAC’s John Mosley (photo courtesy Screen Rant)
When Mosley preaches to his players, often with televangelist fervor, they listen because he genuinely cares. For a sizable chunk of the season, Mosley is teary. Of course, Mosley desperately wants to win. Even more than that, Mosley’s mission is for his players –all Black except for one – to earn college scholarships.
Winning a state championship will provide the best platform for this to happen. And while a story like that has been told countless times, Last Chance executes with deft precision – with empathy, lots of empathy.
As usual, Last Chance focuses on a few colorful players. Guard and team captain Deshaun Highler has the confident swagger of an All-American. However, he is also fragile. He walked on at the University of Texas at El Paso and earned a scholarship, but the school rescinded it following a coaching change. Grieving the loss of his recently deceased mother, Highler is now driven more than ever.
Then there’s the player no one seems to question as ELAC’s most talented performer, Joe Hampton, a 6’8” center/forward. After Oak Hill Academy, a well-known basketball powerhouse, Hampton made his way to Penn State, but never played there. At ELAC, perhaps his last opportunity, Hampton is on the verge of blowing it with his volatility.
ELAC Huskies (from Netflix and Yahoo! Sports)
More than once, Hampton abruptly walks off the court for a private primal scream – and perhaps to throw a chair or two. In perhaps the best pep talk of the series – and there’s no shortage of good ones – ELAC’s assistant coach, Ken Hunter, a soft-spoken, wise man, convinces Hampton to return to court and finish his day.
In past seasons, Last Chance has spent ample time in the academic realm, often filming the players as they attend (and often struggle in) the classroom. In Last Chance’s first season, academic advisor Brittany Wagner unforgettably reminded her players to bring pencils to class. This season, there’s very little, if any, time spent in the classroom.
When ELAC’s season concludes, Mosley isn’t the only one shedding tears. The ELAC players know that they’ll be moving on from an authentic, caring coaching staff. Life will never be quite the same. As ELAC assistant coach Rob Robinson put it, “it was a heck of a ride.”
Agreed.
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Jon Hart is the author of Unfortunately, I was available.
