Miami’s transfer point guard is ‘starting to get more comfortable.’ UM is reaping rewards
When Charlie Moore was searching for a new home after he decided to transfer from the DePaul Blue Demons in April, he surveyed the landscape and saw enough with the Miami Hurricanes to intrigue him.
He had a prior relationship with Jim Larranaga, who recruited Moore while he was a four-star recruit at Morgan Park in Chicago. He was close with Bill Courtney, who was previously an assistant coach at DePaul. Most importantly, he saw potential, particularly on the offensive end where Isaiah Wong, Kameron McGusty and Sam Waardenburg gave him a cadre of three-point shooters to complement his pass-first mentality.
“It was a big reason to come here,” the guard said Monday. “I knew we had talent here. We just had to put it together.”
With Miami (9-3, 1-0 Atlantic Coast) up to nine wins and in the midst of a five-game winning streak, it’s starting to look like Moore might have been on to something.
Its 82-72 win against the Stetson Hatters on Monday in Coral Gables was Miami’s fourth straight game scoring at least 72 points and boosted the Hurricanes up to 51st in the nation in adjusted offensive efficiency, according Kenpom.com. A year after just 66.4 points per game, Miami is averaging 73.8.
The Hurricanes have done much more than just add Moore to a 10-win team, but a player like him was one of the most glaring missing pieces a year ago.
“He’s been tremendous for us,” McGusty said Monday.
On Monday, Moore dished out a season-high eight assists, giving him an average of 4.4 per game during the winning streak.
Four of his eight assists went to McGusty, with all four leading to three-pointers as he made a season-high six. Miami attempted 29 threes and made 14 — both season highs — with Moore generating six off assists and hitting one of his own in the second half at the Watsco Center.
“I give him a lot of credit for my performance tonight,” McGusty said after scoring 27. “He does a great job of penetrating and pitching, and getting our offense flowing.”
Moore, who averaged just 2.6 assists per game in his first seven games as a Hurricane, is now up to 3.3 assists per game, which has him on pace for Miami’s best full-season mark since Ja’Quan Newton averaged 3.4 in the 2016-17 college basketball season.
The toughest part of the Hurricanes’ schedule lies ahead with the meat of ACC play set to begin Dec. 29, so Moore still needs to do it against stiffer competition.
He has a track record, though. He averaged 4.2 assists per game last year and 6.1 the year before while playing in the Big East Conference. His history suggests the last five games are a sign of what’s to come rather than an outlier.
It’s natural for him to get better as the year has gone on, too. He’s a transfer, as is fellow guard Jordan Miller, and Waardenburg didn’t play last year because of an injury and two freshmen were part of the rotation Monday. Miami is still just a dozen games into a season of trying to integrate five-plus new pieces and Moore, who has the ball in his hands more than anyone, has the greatest responsibility to learn everyone’s tendencies and make everything work as a cohesive whole.
“I’m starting to get more comfortable,” he said. “It’s still a process, but I’m starting to become more comfortable than I once was at the beginning of the season.”
Larranaga has been happy with his play all year long, pointing to the Hurricanes’ three-point shooting as the difference.
In the first seven games, Miami shot just 27.1 percent from long range. In the last five, the Hurricanes are at 39.1.
“I think he actually has played consistently well from the start of the season,” Larranaga said. “We’re just starting to shoot the ball better.”
Whether the assists are a product of the shooting or the shots are a product of the passing ultimately doesn’t matter. What matters is Miami has hit on a winning identity and Moore is at its core.
