NCAA Basketball: 5 guards who need to take the next step(s) in 2020-21
Charlie Moore | Guard | 5’11” | Senior
2019-20 stats: 15.5 points, 6.1 assists, and 3.3 rebounds per game
Last season, Moore showed how valuable he is to the DePaul Blue Demons, and how crucial it is for him to play well, in order for the Blue Demons to win games. Although they ended up struggling significantly in Big East play, the Blue Demons were able to win their first nine games of the season, largely thanks to Moore’s reliable scoring.
In those nine games, Moore scored in double figures six times, and notched 20 or more points three times during that stretch (which included a 27-point performance against Farleigh Dickinson, a 24-point performance against Boston College, and a 21-point performance against Minnesota). And even when the Blue Demons went on an 8-game losing streak in the middle of conference play, Moore still managed to average 15 points during DePaul’s debacle.
Moore is at his best when he can catch the ball on the move, sprint up the floor with the ball in either hand and get defenders to play on their heels. When it comes to operating in pick-and-roll situations, Moore is a master at attacking mismatches (like when the opposing team’s big man switches on to him).
When that does occur, Moore is excellent at reading what the opposing big man is trying to take away. If he decides to hang back and give Moore the three (because he doesn’t trust his own footspeed, and ability to stop dribble penetration), Moore is fine with taking it (even though he shot 31.7% from three last season).
If the opposing big man has quicker feet, and has a reputation of being able to press up on nimble guards, and force them to make more side to side moves (which would also give the help more time to slide over), Moore will switch things up. At that point, Moore likes to accelerate past them to his right, or move the ball from his right hand to his left, and execute a swift in-and-out crossover, before getting into the paint, and shooting a soft teardrop, or getting the ball to one of the big men in the paint.
When opposing big men don’t switch on to Moore, but instead decide to hedge as hard as they possibly can, Moore does a great job of pulling them further away from the basket (and making them believe that they have stopped him in his tracks), before turning on the jets, getting around them, and making something happen at the rim. When opposing big men don’t hedge as hard, Moore is excellent at attacking their outside hip, and putting instant pressure on them, by causing them to the back pedal quickly).
Moore is also very good in traffic/tight spaces, because he knows when defenders are going to try to reach in, and get a hand on the ball as he is driving. That is why Moore likes to take rapid, low dribbles, as he is weaving his way to the basket so that defenders will end up smacking one of his arms, as opposed to knocking the ball loose.
If Moore wants to take his scoring to another level this season, he needs to learn not to drive back into defenses, when he has the chance to take open mid-range jump shots. For example, sometimes when Moore is driving hard to his right and decides to put the ball between his legs as he is coming to a complete stop, he likes to cross the ball back over to his right, and try to attack a defender who has just regained the advantage (because he is already standing where Moore is trying to get to and doesn’t need to work as hard to prevent him from scoring).
This decision would sometimes lead to deflating turnovers last season (he averaged 3.5 of them), which would cause the momentum to shift in the opposing team’s favor.
While Moore is still able to get quality shots off when he gets to the rim from time to time, he often wastes his energy trying to make a move, that is actually benefiting his defenders. Sure, there is no guarantee that Moore will knock down those open mid-range jump shots, but because the level of difficulty of each of those shots is so low, I would probably give him an 80-85% chance of knocking them down.
Besides, they are rhythm mid-range jump shots, which means that even if his defenders have tremendous closing speed, it may not make a difference, due to the fact that when a player is in rhythm, a hand in their face won’t faze them as much.
Next, I think that Moore would benefit enormously from shot faking more often, and getting his opponents off their feet, as he driving to the basket. Why? Because Moore can be a predictable driver at times, and when he is able to get downhill, defenders know that he is going to try to finish with his outside hand (and because he is not an explosive athlete, they are able to impact his shot greatly).
Think about it like this, if a defender is running side by side with Moore, and Moore stops on a dime, exposes the ball to him with his inside hand, and then turns the other way, he will have more room to put up 6-8 foot floater.
Why is that? Well, it is because Moore’s defender’s momentum will carry him out of bounds, so if Moore fools him into believing that he will go up with the ball right away, he will most likely go flying in the opposite direction (because he decided to leave his feet, and attempt to block Moore’s shot). If Moore is able to use this tactic regularly in 2020-21, he will have a much easier time converting at the rim on a consistent basis.