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Clover standouts hooping away
Neese in Atlanta, Moore at Top 100
INDIANAPOLIS -- Jalen Moore of Cloverdale has spent his summer refining his skills and working on getting quicker and stronger.
He got a reminder on Wednesday at the Indiana Basketball Coaches' Association Top 100 Underclass Workout of how crucial those last two aspects will be for his final two high school seasons.
"Most of the guards there were pretty tall, muscular and pretty quick," he said. "There were a lot of good players there.
"I did pretty well, but I could have done better," Moore added. "I would like to go there again next year to improve my game some more."
Moore enjoyed the day, which also included instructional sessions and tips on being student-athletes and a speech from former college head coach Jim Crews.
"I thought it went well overall," Moore said. "I liked that we both got to play in scrimmages and did a lot of drills, and we worked on a lot of different things."
Moore had one of the best individual games of his career last month at an all-star game in Terre Haute sponsored by the Wabash Valley Officials Association, in which he won Player of the Game honors for pouring in 30 points.
The junior lefty hit 8 of 11 3-pointers in that game.
"Coach [Patrick] Rady told me just to go there and play my game," Moore said. "I was kind of hesitant in the first half, but in the second half I hit a shot and I felt better. I started feeling it a little."
Moore and the Clovers also played in the Illiana League this summer, in addition to working on individual skills.
"The league went pretty well," Moore said. "We could have done better as a team. By the time the season gets here, I think we'll be pretty good. We lost two guys from last year [to graduation], but everybody else is back.
Moore said that the motivation of furthering the team's state tournament run, which ended at the regional level this spring, has helped with preparation for next year.
"We are having guys working harder, staying after practice and coming in early," he said. "I think we'll be better than last year."
Coach Rady has been helping Moore and his teammates with continuing to improve their shooting.
"I've been working hard, and trying to keep getting better and better," he said. "Coach Rady works with us on the shooting gun and helps us out, and talks us through it if we're having a bad shooting day.
"I'm just trying to get stronger and quicker, work on seeing the floor a little better and increasing my range and my consistency."
Moore enjoys being a teammate of Butler-bound Cooper Neese, and not just for the attention he attracts from the opposing team's defense.
"It's really good to have someone on your team who can help you out," Moore said. "He knows the game really well, and I look up to him and his work ethic. He's like a big brother to me, and he always has my back."
* Neese, Hoosiers fall in 3OT -- Neese had to miss the Top 100 workout due to traveling to Atlanta with the Indy Hoosiers for the Under Armour Nationals.
Under Armour sponsors the Hoosiers and several other teams around the country, and has a series of tournaments for its teams in a NASCAR-type points program which will eventually decide an overall winner.
Neese's team opened play in the tournament on Wednesday by losing 69-68 to Louisiana Elite in pool play, then began single-elimination bracket play on Thursday against WeR1 -- a team consisting of players from Delaware, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Maryland.
In a crazy game, the Hoosiers were defeated in three overtimes in "sudden death." The Indy squad led 34-27 at halftime, but was outscored 37-30 in the second half to force extra periods.
After two overtime periods didn't produce a winner, the third overtime was decided by whichever team scored first -- which was WeR1.
Neese played 34 minutes in that game, third most on the team, and finished with 19 points to trail only Southport standout Paul Scruggs (who had 20). He hit 4 of 12 field goals, including 4 of 9 from 3-point range, and was 7 of 8 at the free throw line. Neese also had four rebounds and two steals.
Despite being eliminated from the championship bracket, the Indy Hoosiers have continued in the consolation bracket and defeated Atlanta Xpress 67-63 later on Thursday. The Hoosiers were scheduled to play Earl Watson Elite on Friday night.