AAU Coach: New IU Commit Clifton Moore Just Realizing His Potential
Indiana's 76-47 home win over Nebraska on Feb. 13, 2013, probably doesn't conjure up many strong memories for Hoosier fans.
Head coach Tom Crean and IU finished 26-5 in that regular season, earning a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament after a stretch of impressive wins throughout the year.
Beating Nebraska, who finished 15-18 overall and missed the postseason, wasn't one of the prominent ones.
However, in that contest, two players tied for a game high in scoring with 16 points - former Indiana star Cody Zeller, and Nebraska guard Dylan Talley.
Talley - who went on to earn honorable mention All-Big Ten honors that season after finishing 10th in the conference in scoring average (13.7 ppg) - played AAU ball in his prep days for Hoopdreamz, the same squad new Indiana commit Clifton Moore suited up for.
Jonathan Michels, who coached both players, said Moore's upside is "incredibly higher" than Talley's was.
“He’s 6-10 and a half with a 7-3 wingspan," Michels said. “He’s a jump shooter and he's a ball-handler.
"He’s either a wing or a stretch four – he’s not a post player. But he’s certainly a talented guy.
"I think he’s going to be a NBA player.”
Confidence can be a powerful thing, and that's one of the major reasons Moore's profile has started to really emerge on the national scene.
He finished with 20 points and 12 rebounds this July in a matchup against Louisville commit and four-star forward Malik Williams, a former Indiana target ranked as the No. 29 player nationally. Michels said Moore also caught some eyes with a nice performance against the PSA Cardinals, which feature five-star center Mo Bamba and four-star forward Deng Gak - also Indiana targets.
Going head-to-head against the shoe company teams in July and playing well time and again instilled Moore with a growing belief that he could matchup with some of the best.
"He was like 6-2 or 6-3 as a freshman," Michels said. "He didn’t grow like a [former UK star] Anthony Davis deal, but it’s been gradually and now he's 6-10.
"He’s the same player now that he has been. He was always a jump shooting wing, and as he’s grown that hasn’t changed. We’re not a shoe company team and he’s always been with us – he wouldn’t leave – so around Philadelphia people knew him, but outside people didn’t until this July.
"He got to a point where he realized he was just as good as everybody. Because of that, he became a lot more confident and more assertive.”
Like all high school prospects, there's still some areas Moore has to continue to work on. One of those is gaining some muscle - at 6-11 and 202 pounds, he weighs basically the same as 6-6 four-star Indiana commit Justin Smith.
“He’s got to get stronger," Michels said. "He’s got to be more active on the backboard, especially at the offensive end.
"But I think the biggest thing is getting stronger.”
In Moore, the Hoosiers are also landing a quality representative of the program on and off the court.
"He’s a great student," Michels said. "Just the nicest kid you could coach in your life.
"His family is great; they’re the easiest people in the world to talk to. He’s just the best.”
Additional content on Moore:
· Q&A: Moore Breaks Down His Decision - LINK
· Video Reel: New IU Commit Clifton Moore - LINK