BENNETT'S MINUTES: Jalen Moore 2.0 dominating at Olney

Wednesday, February 19, 2020 ~ Updated 1:00 AM
Cloverdale graduate Jalen Moore knifes his way through the Vincennes defense last week on his way to a 35-point game. Olney beat the No. 5-ranked Trailblazers 72-70.
Banner Graphic/JOEY BENNETT

VINCENNES — It’s not like Jalen Moore needed to start from scratch and revamp his entire game, but the former Cloverdale standout has managed to improve upon his first season of junior college basketball at Olney Central with his play this winter.

Moore, who finished his Clover career as the 11th-leading scorer in Indiana high school history, averaged 19.3 points a game last year for the Blue Knights as well as 7.8 assists (to just 2.3 turnovers per game).

This year, the elusive lefty has inched his scoring total up to 22.9 points per game (14th best in the country), while his total of 595 points is 10 best nation-wide.

His assists-per-game number has dropped slightly to 6.4, but his total of 167 “dimes” through 26 games ranks him seventh in the nation.

Anyone who has ever seen Moore play knows of his proclivity to get to the free throw line, and only one other player this year has topped either Moore’s total of 193 made free throws or his total 243 attempts (79.4 percent).

Yet, both Moore and his coach think his best improvement can not be quantified on the stat sheet.

“Jalen is a winner,” OCC head coach Mike Burris said last Wednesday, after Moore burned then No. 5-ranked Vincennes for 35 points in a 72-70 win. “He has helped take our program to the next level. We have talked about him establishing himself as a ‘high-level dude’, and this was a great platform tonight to do that.

“He’s gotten better in leadership, and he’s getting more vocal,” Burris added. “Tonight during timeouts he communicated better what he saw to his teammates. He’s becoming more of a leader, and more of a well-rounded guy.”

Moore was understandably elated to pick up a win at Vincennes, the defending junior college national champion, for the second straight year and to complete a sweep of the regular-season series with the Blazers.

“It feels good,” Moore said after tying his third-best collegiate scoring output. “We fought all 40 minutes, and it was a great team win.”

Moore continues to drive himself fueled by the past snubs during his career, including being left off the Indiana All-Star team despite leading the state in scoring as a senior and being “under-recruited” coming out of high school.

He thoroughly enjoyed making such a bold statement on a huge stage last week.

“I always have something to prove, because I have a chip on my shoulder,” he said. “I feel I always have to prove to the world what I’m capable of.

“I feel I’ve gotten a lot stronger and quicker, my court vision is a lot better and I feel I’ve gotten a lot better in leadership.”

Moore’s bold statement in the most recent win over Vincennes included hitting 10 of 22 field goals (5 of 10 from 3-point range), hitting all 10 free throws while also adding seven assists and five rebounds.

He played all 40 minutes and made just one turnover (when a Blazer stole the ball from him near midcourt).

Moore said has played the whole game “six or seven times” this year. Burris admits that’s more minutes than normal, but had no qualms about having his star to go the full 40 minutes.

“We try to keep him around 32 minutes,” he said. “Players make plays. As a coach, you want to stay out of the way and let your players make plays. We did that tonight.”

Evidence of Moore’s increased physical stature came on a play in the second half when he dribbled from the baseline to the corner, executed one of his patented shot fakes, got his defender to leap into the air and absorbed the blow when the VU player fell on him.

Moore was still able to lift himself up, drive the defender off him and still drill a 3-pointer. He added the free throw for a four-point play.

The Knights improved to 21-4 with their seventh straight win in that game, and added another victory on Saturday with an 88-71 triumph over Lewis & Clark.

Moore had 19 points in 26 minutes of action, hitting 5 of 12 from the field (1 of 7 from 3-point range) and 8 of 10 at the line.

The Blue Knights made their first appearance in the National Junior College Athletic Association top 25 this week at No. 22, and have just four games left in the regular season.

They host Lincoln Trail tonight, Southeastern Illinois on Saturday and play at John A. Logan on Monday before closing out the regular season on Feb. 26 at Shawnee.

The Midwest District tournament will begin on March 6 at Rend Lake College. The Blue Knights would prefer to win that tourney rather than be “on the bubble” and hope to be given one of eight at-large berths to join the 16 district winners at Hutchinson, Kan., for the national tournament.

Whenever his team’s season ends next month, Moore will then be able to turn his full focus into choosing the school to finish out the final two years of his college career.

A few offers straggled in early in the season from Division I schools, but the interest has been picking up considerably as the season has progressed. Appalachian State offered on the day of the Vincennes game, and Coastal Carolina and Louisiana-Monroe have also offered recently. Moore is also hearing from schools in the Sun Belt, Missouri Valley, Horizon, Ohio Valley, Summit, Mid-American, Southland and Western Athletic conferences as well as Conference USA.

Obviously, earning a trip to the national tournament would only enhance his value — and Moore has no incentive to make such an important decision any time soon.

Moore said last week he has a lot to offer the next level besides his skill set.

“You saw it tonight,” he said. “I can offer leadership, trusting and believing in my teammates and believing in our coaching staff. I’m a winner — I hate to lose. That’s what I can bring to the next level.”

There is one mantra that Moore credits for his success.

“I’ve always believed in myself, and I’ve never doubted myself,” he said. “When I get that D-I opportunity, I’m going to seize it a lot. I’ve been waiting on it my whole life. Whenever it comes, I’ll be prepared.”