Charlie Moore returns home to Chicago, hungry for UM Sweet 16 win and Harold’s Chicken
Nick Irvin remembers the first time he saw Charlie Moore play basketball and insists he knew right away that the kid was special.
Moore was a diminutive baby-faced fourth grader holding his own against much taller, older kids at the Saint Sabina church gym on Chicago’s southeast side, 10 miles from the United Center, where Moore and his University of Miami teammates will play Iowa State in the Sweet 16 on Friday night (9:59 p.m., TBS).
“When I first laid eyes on Charlie, he was this tiny little kid and his dad was working him out, taking him around to different gyms so he could show his skills against older players,” said Irvin, now an assistant coach at Western Illinois University. “He looked so young and small out there, but he had no fear.”
Moore, who remains baby faced and fearless at age 24, earned the nickname “Baby Assassin” while starring for the Mac Irvin Fire AAU team and Morgan Park High School. Irvin coached both teams.
He played varsity as a freshman, scored 55 points in the opening game of his senior season, and led the Mustangs to back-to-back Class 3A state championships in 2013 and 2014. In 2016 he was voted Illinois Mr. Basketball, joining a long list of stars including Kevin Garnett, Derrick Rose, Jahlil Okafor and Jabari Parker.
“Charlie was phenomenal, even at that age,” Irvin said. “He always controlled the tempo of the game. As the coach, you just tell him to go out there and figure it out, and he does. Yes, he takes a lot of gambles, but most of the time he makes the right play and puts the ball where it’s supposed to be.”
Word got around early that Chicago had a new schoolboy legend.
“Charlie is special, a winner on and off the court,” said NBA Hall of Famer Isiah Thomas, another smiley baby-faced point guard from Chicago who went on to fame with the Detroit Pistons. “His perseverance, determination and intelligence on the court mirrors his off-the-court perseverance, determination and intelligence navigating our Chicago neighborhoods and the collegiate neighborhoods of the NCAA.”
Moore grew up in Englewood, surrounded by gangs in one of the most crime-ridden neighborhoods in Chicago.
“Either you fall into the trap, or you work hard to make it out and succeed,” Moore told the Herald Thursday before practice at the United Center. “I have friends I grew up with that went a different way than I did, but my dad and mom made sure I wouldn’t go that route and I appreciate them forever for that.”
Charlie’s father, Curtis, was a high school basketball coach and put mini hoops on every doorway in their house. He had Charlie and his brothers spend countless hours dribbling up and down their alleyway. When Charlie was in elementary school, his father told him to go out and shoot during halftime of high school games so he could become accustomed to playing in front of crowds.
Curtis and Tanya Moore also stressed academics. Moore was a high school honor student and has won academic awards in college. He earned a degree in Communications from DePaul and is working on a degree in International Studies at Miami.
He originally committed to Memphis, but decommitted when coach Josh Pastner left for Georgia Tech. He then went to California, transferred from there due to a coach change, went to Kansas and then transferred to DePaul in April 2019 to be closer to home and offer support for his father, who suffered a massive stroke Labor Day Weekend 2015 and remains in a wheelchair.
When DePaul fired its coach, Moore entered the transfer portal and immediately was contacted by UM coach Jim Larrañaga and his assistant coach Bill Courtney, who had been at DePaul. Moore liked what he heard, Larrañaga says he is a “godsend” and the two have forged a strong bond.
“Charlie played in the Pac-12, played in the Big 12, played in the Big East and now is playing in the ACC,” Larrañaga said. “Is there anybody else in college basketball history that has been on that kind of journey?”
Despite his nomadic career, Moore remains a Chicago guy. Whenever he comes home, he makes sure to stop in at Soule Chicago for soul food, The Wrap Bar for chicken wraps, and Harold’s Chicken, for fried chicken with a special sauce.
“I’m trying not to feel any pressure coming home,” Moore said. “I just want to go out there and attack the game the way I have all season. Focus on winning and helping my teammates. I grew up watching games at the United Center, and I played an All-Star game there when I was little, so it will be amazing to be back.”
Everywhere Moore goes, his teachers love him. Coaches love him. Teammates love him.
“Man, I love the guy,” Larrañaga said. “He’s got the greatest smile. He’s got the greatest personality. You just love being around him. The great part about Charlie is he brings that out in everyone. He’s like our Chris Paul or our Tom Brady. He has such charisma.
“And then to find a program at the end of the journey that embraces him like my coaching staff and players have. They welcomed him, gave him the ball and said, ‘Please lead us to an ACC championship or NCAA tournament,’ and he hasn’t let anybody down. He’s been a fantastic player, and his journey is not over.”
Irvin can’t wait for the game.
“It’s a great feeling to see him come home to cap off his college career,” Irvin said. “Hopefully, he can make it to the Final Four in his hometown. That would be icing on the cake. Charlie will bring the city out for the game Friday night. Charlie always brought the city out, put on shows in front of the crowd. I know he’s pumped up and the city is pumped up, too.”
This story was originally published March 24, 2022 at 7:42 PM.