From JUCO to the Big East
The South Carolina native, Isaih Moore, is a JUCO product from Pearl River Community College. Standing in at 6-foot-10 with a 7-foot-6 wingspan, Moore is ready to make a big impact for the Johnnies this season. For anyone who has watched St. John’s in recent years, it is evident that we’ve been missing a solid big man. Lucky for us it seems as if we may have found a gem in Isaih Moore.
Life before St. John’s
After one season at the College of Charleston, Moore knew it wasn’t the right fit for him for the rest of his collegiate career. In one season playing JUCO ball at Pearl River CC, Moore averaged 15.9 PPG, 9.1 REB, and slightly over 2 BPG. Moore gets up and down the floor like a shooting guard with the length of a center. He was an efficient 54.3% shooting from the field and even chipped in a handful of threes throughout the season, shooting 28.9% from beyond the arc. One of his most impressive stats from his one season at Pearl River CC was shooting 80% from the free throw line. Free throws and rebounding was the kryptonite of the Red Storm a year ago, and Moore provides the attributes to fix that.
Moore was recruited by schools such as LSU, Arkansas, and Alabama, but ultimately chose to come to Queens. He ultimately chose St. John’s because he felt like he could shine here and for the opportunity to play in the Garden.
2K MyCareer Badges?
If we were handing out 2K MyCareer badges to the St. John’s roster Moore would be blessed with these four.
- Lob City Finisher
- Rim Protector
- Fast Break Finisher
- Glass Crasher
I’m expecting Moore to throw down a ton of alley-oops this season, as he did in JUCO. Going back through his highlights, such a massive part of his game is positioning himself well on fast break opportunities to either catch a lob or a regular pass and finish it off with a dunk. Pairing a wildly athletic forward like Moore with an already incredible quick backcourt with Dunn, Posh, and Williams, should lead to many easy baskets for the big man. Lobs aren’t the only easy baskets Moore gets though. He is proficient in crashing the offensive glass. His highlight reel has plenty of put-back dunks and lay-ups. This is a hustle stat that can’t go unnoticed when talking about Isaih.
Where does Moore fall on the Depth chart?
Moore’s playing time will be completely what he makes of it. When evaluating the St. John’s roster it appears as if he will be primarily competing with Josh Roberts for minutes. However, we have to remember that last season Mike Anderson opted to go with a smaller lineup in many situations with Earlington at the 5, disregarding playing a center at all. We also have to remember that Moore is not limited to just playing in the 5 spot. You could even see a big lineup with Roberts at the 5 and Moore on the perimeter. Moore is a player that will have to prove their worth to Iron Mike this season and force him to keep a big guy in the game. Isaih could be an important piece for the Johnnies on both the offensive and defensive side of the ball this season.
Moore is already captivating attention of reporters who have been lucky enough to get to watch a St. John’s practice. Fully expect Moore to put the Big East on notice this winter.
Remember the name. Isaih Moore.
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