Justin Moore didn’t get off to the start that he wanted in his first two collegiate games for Villanova. But, let’s be honest, it’s not easy having your 2nd game of the season be on the road against Ohio State with a young team.
Ohio was no easy opponent today either. They were off to a 3-0 start to the season led by sophomore standout Jason Preston. (Expect a post on him from me soon)
Villanova struggled to get things going offensively against Ohio State who were on fire all night. Justin Moore was only able to get himself six points on 2/6 shooting that night. In Villanova’s first game against Army, he shot 3/11 and again wasn’t able to reach double digits in scoring.
But, against Ohio today that all changed. Justin Moore looked so much more comfortable in the offense and was knocking down shots we know he can.
His slashing ability was constantly on display against Ohio.
I was thoroughly impressed with his ability to get to his own shot today. This half spin he utilized for a bucket above isn’t anything special, but it creates just enough space for him to then use his size to finish.
That has actually been his hinderance so far this season, being able to create opportunities for himself despite his average athleticism. Moore isn’t particularly quick by any means so he has to make up for it in another way. He certainly showed us his tight handle and more creation ability today.
I mentioned how Justin didn’t have the games he wanted to start the season, but the one thing he consistently did well was shoot the deep ball. He continued that today as he shot 3/5 from deep.
On that last particular play, he shows great awareness to relocate to the corner to create a passing lane and get up the corner three.
There was one defensive possession that stood out to me as Justin Moore gets beat on a back screen pretty easily. As mentioned, he isn’t too quick so his defensive tendencies are extremely important.
Moore was clearly beat as mentioned, but still ends up getting a block because of one thing:
Positioning
He uses his long strides and strength to get in good enough position to be able to block the shot. The lack of quickness will not be nearly as big of an issue if he continues to show high IQ plays defensively and good positioning instincts.
Justin Moore finished with 18 points on 6/13 shooting as Villanova took down an underrated Ohio team by a score of 78 to 54. He’s a name to continue to keep an eye on and expect to see plenty of more games like this one going forward.
