Although Cincinnati had to do the impossible and replace Sean Kilpatrick and Justin Jackson not to mention Titus Rubles this past season, the team was lucky enough to have a strong core of returning players as well. With the likes of Troy Caupain, Shaq Thomas and Jermaine Sanders, along with the return of Octavius Ellis from junior college, there wasn't always tons of court time for the youngsters. Gary Clark made a big impact as a freshman, but Moore was held to a much smaller role, playing only 8.2 minutes per game. Of course, part of the problem was Moore himself, who missed three games in mid-Feburary after being suspended.
Such a limited amount of time on the floor certainly kept him from getting into a rhythm with his shot most of the season. He only connected on 37.5 percent of his attempts from the field and even when projecting his scoring average over 40 minutes, he would still have put up only 10.7 per game.
That number needs to be taken with a grain of salt, however. Moore didn't play in a ton of situations when scoring a lot was needed. Also, as any Bearcat fan knows, the offense is not built to support big time scoring threats, so if he can continue to score at that clip once he gets more minutes, he will be just fine.
Picking things up on the boards could go a long way in getting him more of that coveted playing time. Clark excelled on the glass, bringing in 7.2 rebounds per game. Obviously, Moore didn't have enough of a chance to match those numbers, but his actual production only projects to 5.3 rebounds across an entire 40 minute game. That's a solid, but could certainly be improved.
Also, let's all try to forget the damage Kentucky's Willie Cauley-Stein did when he produced this poster during the NCAA Tournament.
The Best of the Best
Tuesday, December 2 vs. Stony Brook
In his first seven games of his collegiate career, Moore played at least 10 minutes five times. This was one of those games and easily the best. He had nine points on 3-of-4 shooting, including a 2-for-2 effort from beyond the arc. He also handed out a pair of assists and snagged a steal.
Tuesday, December 23 vs. Wagner
This was the biggest scoring night of the season for Moore, who had 10 points in this contest, a total he would eclipse by just seven in the last 23 games combined. He knocked down 2-of-5 shots from the field and was a perfect 6-for-6 at the foul line.
For Next Year
One of the Bearcats major strengths could be Moore's undoing, at least in his sophomore campaign. Sanders was the only senior on last year's squad, so there won't be a ton of newly open spots in the lineup. If Moore hopes to work into the rotation more often he needs to be more consistently productive when he gets on the floor and to be just as consistent in his efforts off of it as well. Another year under his built should help him make better adjustments to the college game and the hope is that he has learned from the suspension during the winter.
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