A native of Amherst, Massachusetts, Moss had a successful prep career first for Amherst Regional High School followed by one postgraduate prep year at Northfield Mount Hermon School.[1][2][3] He did not start playing basketball until his sophomore year of high school,[4] but was good enough to ultimately play NCAA Division I basketball for the Brown Bears. Moss played for the school's freshman team in 1976–77, then lettered for Brown's varsity squad during his final three years.[5] In that stretch, he was twice named to the All-Ivy League First Team and led the league in points per game as a senior (21.2), which helped him earn the conference's player of the year award.[6] For his career, Moss scored 1,241 points, which at the time of his graduation stood sixth in school history.[5] In 1986, Moss was inducted into Brown's athletics hall of fame.[5]