CHICAGO — Charlie Moore, the pride of Morgan Park High School on the far South Side, has returned to his hometown for what he hopes will be two of the most important games of his six-year college basketball career.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime type of experience. I’m just enjoying my time here with my guys, my teammates, my coaching staff,” said Moore, a 5-foot-11 super senior point guard, who after spending one year at Cal, two at Kansas and two at DePaul is finishing up at Miami (Florida).
Moore, a starter who averages 12.7 points, 4.5 assists and 2.5 rebounds a game, will take the court for the Hurricanes in a Sweet 16 game against Iowa State on Friday night at the United Center.
If KU beats Providence in a 6:29 p.m. tip-off and Miami stops the Cyclones in a game to start 30 minutes after the end of the KU game, Moore would play against the Jayhawks on Sunday for a spot in the Final Four.
After redshirting in 2017-18, he averaged 2.9 points in 13.1 minutes a game for KU during the 2018-19 season.
“A lot of great people, good friends,” Moore said Thursday at the United Center, asked his memories of his time at Kansas. “One of my best friends, couple of my best friends I met at Kansas. My memories there are still pretty much good memories.”
Moore — he scored a season-high 25 points against Syracuse on Jan. 5, dished a season-high nine assists vs. Virginia Tech on Feb. 26 and grabbed a season and career high nine rebounds against Auburn on March 20 — said he’s “excited I get to share these moments with my teammates, my family and friends. I’m sure they’re going to come to the game. I’m just excited to get out there and play and help my teammates come out with a win.”
Of leaving KU for DePaul, then moving on to Miami, Moore explained: “You know, really, my dad encouraged me to do it. I came home, first time, go to DePaul, to be closer to my parents, (to) help those guys out. But I was home for two years. My dad wanted me to be happy. I had a good conversation with the coaching staff (at Miami). And he enjoyed it as well. And I knew I was going to come play with great teammates out there in Florida. So that made it easy.”
Moore said of his final move. Moore expects a lot of family members at Friday’s game against Iowa State.
“There’s been a lot of people hitting me up for tickets. But I’m just focused on what’s at hand for my teammates, to be honest. It’s not about me,” Moore said. “But I’m pretty sure my mom and dad ... I’m trying to make sure they’re good for the most part (with tickets) and I’ll be happy.”
He said it’s a “blessing” to play in the building Michael Jordan of the Chicago Bulls made famous.
“The things Michael Jordan did here. … It’s a blessing to play here. I’m from Chicago. I grew up in watching Chicago basketball, grew up going to the games and to actually now be playing on the court with my teammates, it’s amazing,” Moore said.
KU senior Jalen Coleman-Lands is from Indianapolis but considers Chicago his “second home.” He played at Illinois two years, was at DePaul three years, Iowa State one year and now KU one year.
“I’ve talked to Jalen. That’s my guy,” Moore said of Coleman-Lands.
Coleman-Lands said he stays in contact with Moore.
“Nothing too deep about personal experiences,” Coleman-Lands said of discussions with Moore. “We are rooting each other on. We know how hard we’ve worked on and off the court. This is something special. The best way to create an impact, a long legacy, is by doing well in the present.”
Another Jayhawk from the Chicago area is Joseph Yesufu of Bolingbrook High and the Chicago Mean Streets AAU program. Yesufu started his college career at Drake for two years and is in his first year at KU. “It takes a lot to get to this point,” Yesufu said.
“It takes a lot of hard work. That’s what we’ve been doing to this point. We’ve got to continue doing what we’ve been doing to get to a higher level.”
