Recruiting Report: Jalen Moore (2018)
One of the top scorers in the state hasn’t gained much interest from colleges, even though he just hit the 2,000-point mark in his career. Even with playing with Cooper Neese for his first three years who is eighth on the career scoring list and only scoring just over 100 points his freshman season, 5’10 Jalen Moore is still climbing up the ranks in career scoring. Tied for 39th in career scoring right now, Moore has a minimum of seven games to play and could make a push to get into the top 10 all time and could also score 1000 points this year if they make it to regionals. Even with all of these accolades Moore is still being a team player.
“Scoring two thousand points is crazy,” Moore said. “I never thought I would ever be able to make it this far, but it means a lot to me. Growing up I was put out of the picture because of how small I was and everything. That just made me go harder at everything I did. I’m still put out on a lot of stuff and everything but it just makes me continue to bust my butt.”
Cloverdale is sitting at 13-4, far exceeding expectations that everyone had thought. Much of that success is due to Moore and his 38.5 points a game but also to his teammates. Moore is getting everyone involved this year. Moore is averaging five assists a game and has a few games of nine assists.
“The season is going great,” Moore said. “People doubted us a lot this year. Guys are stepping up and playing their role and continue to be coachable.”
As far as recruiting Moore holds an offer from Olney, a JUCO in Illinois and hasn’t taken any visits yet. A few low major D1 programs have been talking to his coach and have expressed interest as well as Lincoln Trail and Saint Francis. I would expect a few more schools to jump on board as we near the end of the season.
Moore is a quick guard who can create space from his defender by either blowing by him and finishing at the rim or hitting a step back jumper. Moore can hit the three-pointer if you don’t close out on him quickly and can shoot it at a high rate. On defense, he is becoming a guy that provides good defense and can cause havoc in the press. Moore has active hands and can force players to become really uncomfortable handling the ball. He can definitely handle his own at the next level.
“I feel like I have improved so much. I have gotten a lot stronger, quicker, I am more of a leader, and better court vision on offense and defense,” Moore said.
He is still working on these things but is really working on playing defense, finishing, and getting stronger. With continued improvement and success of Cloverdale, Moore should see a couple more schools come on board and start recruiting him a little harder. I would expect to see schools from all levels show some interest and for him to pick up a few more offers before the end of the year.