More Moore, please.
Colorado State men’s basketball has a good problem; too many talented guards.
And the one who’s stood out the most in the Rams first three games, helping them start a perfect 3-0 has been true freshman Kendle Moore out of Danville, IL. That’s no slight to Anthony Masinton-Bonner, who’s clutch 3-pointer helped lift Colorado State to their narrow, 81-77 victory over Montana State on Wednesday.
That game was Moore’s least impressive of his first three at the collegiate level, scoring 11 points with two assists and one rebound.
His best game came in his first DI action, on opening night as the starter and the one in green and gold to play the most minutes, with 32 in the game. Moore also finished with a team-high 26 points, with four rebounds and four assists.
“It’s how he’s been since he got here,” head coach Niko Medved said after his first win in his new role with the Rams about Kendle Moore. “He doesn’t take a back seat to anybody, competitor, he’s out there with a smile on his face.”
Moore’s 26 helped Colorado State hit the century mark against Colorado Christian, the first time they scored 100 in regulation since 2013. In that first official game of the season, the freshman showed off all the ways he can score.
He’s like a missile, flying to the hoop with crazy speed to put the biscuit in the basket. His speed leaves defenders in his dust as he cuts through the lane for close-in buckets. And he’s not limited to scoring from the inside, he’s gone 6-14 from outside the arc to begin his career, too.
“It felt good, at first I was a little nervous,” Moore said after that game. “We had to be conservative, we only had three guards today. But coach told us just make sure we play hard, bring the same intensity we do in practice…That’s what we did today.”
It’s early, but a new trend with CSU men’s basketball is their intentional listening to coaching, both on the floor in real time as well as during practice, carrying it over and into games.
“He just loves to play this game,” Medved said of Moore. “He’s extremely coachable. Right away, ‘Yeah, yeah I got it coach.’”
Moore was a lightning bolt, a huge spark to the offense which helped them jump out to a massive, 26-3 lead in the first quarter of game time.
“I can’t stop smiling for him, that’s my guy right here,” redshirt junior guard Bonner said of Moore after Game 1. “We hung out all summer…He’s put the work in. We’ve got a lot of confidence in him. We know he’s going to bring it every day, every practice.”
Three games into the season, outside observers are finally seeing that, too; Moore brings the energy and intensity to every game. He’s scored in double digits in all three wins, averaging 15.7 points per game to start his career, along with 3.0 assists, 2.7 rebounds and 1.0 steals so far. Even including his off shooting night, the Game 3 victory over Montana State in which he went 0-6 from downtown, Moore’s making 53.6 percent of his shots and 42.3 percent from beyond the arc.
One of those 3-point makes came after Robbie Berwick’s brilliant behind the head pass to Moore in Game 1, who said, “Once he threw that to me I thought, ‘Yeah, I gotta shoot this one and make it.’” The highlight brought Moby Arena to its feet, a standing ovation in his first game.
This is a true freshman, at 5’10” and 150 pounds, tearing up opposing defenses, not a seasoned veteran. His play has not only been an incredible way to start a collegiate career, but it’s been infectious too, helping the Rams get out and run the floor well in transition.
“He just brings a real savvy, real tough point guard mentality who can also score and make plays for others,” Bonner said as he continued to rave about the 18-year old who’s quickly making his mark on this Colorado State team.
Moore’s scoring prowess jumps out immediately because filling up the hoop is the name of the game in basketball. But, he’s not only showing a deft ability to dish the ball to open teammates, he’s also utilizing his speed and quickness to lock down opponents defensively.
“That’s just a mindset I have,” Moore explained of his defensive play. “I be joking in practice about guarding people 94 feet, but that’s real. If coach tells me to pick up full-court, that’s what I’m going to do.”
As Bonner said, Moore has a “dog mentality” on defense and when the freshman is able to steal an errant dribble, he takes off like a Lamborghini to the hoop.
“They’re strong mentally, and that’s what it takes to be good anytime in your career, but especially early,” Medved said of Moore and fellow freshman Adam Thistlewood.
For Moore, impressing early is important for multiple reasons. First and foremost, he’s getting his feet wet and realizing he truly belongs at this level. And secondly, it’s key because the Rams will become much deeper in the backcourt soon. Kris Martin, who can play shooting guard or small forward, returns to action for the final game of the Gulf Coast Showcase, this Wednesday, which will be CSU’s sixth game of the year.
Martin was suspended for the first five games, and Medved didn’t go into specifics, but either way, the former Oral Roberts guard is a deadly shooter and will find his way to the court. Then, in the second semester, CSU will add Hyron Edwards, too, a gifted guard who transferred from Texas Tech at the mid-way point of last season.
Where will Moore find playing time at that point? Will he continue to start?
If he can continue to play like he has, with excellent energy on both ends of the floor, igniting the offense with his blazing speed to the hoop and solid shooting outside, he’ll force Medved’s hand and will push his way onto the court.
“I know one thing, he looks pretty comfortable out there and it’s going to be pretty hard to take him off the floor,” Medved said.
Next up, Kendle Moore and the 3-0 Rams face three straight road games in three nights as they take part in the Gulf Coast Showcase. Those games tip on Monday (versus Louisiana, 3 p.m. MT), Tuesday (versus Toledo or Florida Gulf Coast) and Wednesday, with their opponent to be determined.
