University of Miami basketball team gets big assist from transfer guard Charlie Moore
Charlie Moore, the most highly touted of the new players on the University of Miami basketball team, is known as a pass-first point guard, a prolific scorer who gets just as much joy – maybe more – from driving the lane and dishing off to open teammates.
The 23-year-old former Illinois Mr. Basketball, who transferred to UM after stops at Cal, Kansas and DePaul, has 427 assists over his nomadic college career.
His most meaningful assist came away from the court and offers a glimpse into the kind of person running the floor for the Canes as the 2021-22 season gets underway Tuesday with a home game against Canisius.
In April 2019, after his sophomore season at Kansas, he decided to transfer to DePaul so he could help take care of his father Curtis, who had been in a wheelchair since suffering a stroke in 2015. Moore was entering his senior season at Morgan Park High in Chicago when he and his mother were out shopping and got the call that his father had collapsed at home.
His father, a talented basketball player in his day, wound up in a coma and hospitalized for seven months. He couldn’t walk and had trouble speaking. Moore helped his father as he recovered, while also shining on the basketball court and fielding 23 scholarship offers.
He had offers from Memphis, Xavier, St. John’s, LSU, Iowa State, Iowa and Miami, among others. He initially chose Memphis but changed his mind after a coaching change and ended up at the University of California.
During his freshman season at Cal, Moore started all 34 games and averaged 12.2 points and 3.5 assists. A coaching change at Cal led him to transfer to Kansas. He sat out the 2017-18 season per transfer rules and struggled to fit in his sophomore season, averaging 2.9 points and 13 minutes per game.
Once he got to DePaul, he felt at home and thrived. He averaged 15.5 points and 6.1 assists as a junior, 14.4 points and 4.2 assists as a senior. He quickly became one of the top players in the Big East and was named to the All Big East Academic team.
When coach Dave Leitao was fired, he once again looked for a new home. His parents fully supported his decision to join the Hurricanes, where he was reunited with former DePaul assistant coach Bill Courtney.
“I had relationships with BC and with Coach L (Jim Larranaga) because they recruited me,” Moore said. “I saw the potential here. I want to win for my last year and play in the ACC. All of my moves made me a better player and person. I’ve been through a lot, so I want to bring my experience to this team.
“My decisions came from coaches leaving, and then the big one was going back home to help my family. I wanted to help my Mom and give my Dad some motivation. I feel like it helped them the two years I was there. Now I get to go on to a better situation for me.”
Courtney remembers the first time he saw Moore play. He was coaching Cornell at the time.
“I was recruiting a kid at Morgan Park High School in Chicago, he was a senior and Charlie was a sophomore,” Courtney recalled. “He was like a little kid. He always had a baby face but he was even smaller with a baby face. The coaches there kept telling me `This guy’s gonna be really good’ and I said, `That little guy?”
Nine years later, when Courtney heard Moore put his name in the transfer portal, he called his contacts at DePaul. Miami point guard Chris Lykes transferred to Arkansas after an injury plagued senior season, and UM was desperate to find a replacement. They were hoping for a guard in the mold of Shane Larkin and Angel Rodriguez, who both led the Canes to Sweet 16s.
“I called up there that same day and said `If Charlie’s looking for a place, we need a point guard and this might be a great place for him,” Courtney said.
So far, he seems like a great fit. Teammates gushed about his passing and leadership.
“He helps us get easier shots,” said Isaiah Wong, who scored 40 points in the preseason win over Nova. “If you see me and Kam (McGusty) getting 25 points, you’re definitely going to see Charlie with 10-11 assists.”
Larranaga added: “We are very fortunate that Charlie decided this is where he wants to be. His teammates enjoy playing with him and the fans will enjoy watching him.”
Moore, who is 5-11, is “a little bit more of a distributor” than Lykes, Larranaga said. “He gets other people involved. Playing alongside Isaiah Wong and Kam McGusty he has two outstanding scorers on either side of him. That combination will create a lot of scoring chances.”
Moore also brings positive energy, which was needed after last year with the rash of injuries and COVID restrictions.
“He’s always got a smile on his face, he’s upbeat every day, all the guys like him,” Courtney said. “He’s a big reason they’re 100 percent rowing their oars in the same direction.”
This story was originally published November 6, 2021 at 6:00 AM.