Indiana Basketball 2018-19 Player Previews: Clifton Moore

The 2018-19 Indiana University men’s basketball season is right around the corner.  To help get you ready, The Daily Hoosier is profiling every player on the 2018-19 IU roster.  You can see all of our 2018-19 player profiles in one place here.  If you are looking for the 2018-19 IU basketball schedule, you can find that here.

Like all of the members of Indiana’s 2017 recruiting class that committed to Tom Crean, Clifton Moore was faced with an early decision — stick with the new head coach or look for a new opportunity.  Just like the rest of his 2017 classmates, Moore decided to give it a go with Archie Miller.

Hailing from the Philadelphia area, Moore was ranked as the No. 102 recruit in the country according to Scout.  He averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds as a senior in high school.

The 6-foot-10 forward didn’t see a lot of action during his freshman campaign.  When he did see the floor he looked tentative and perhaps physically not ready for the demands of the game at this level.

The most notable exception was a Big Ten game against Northwestern in January, where Moore played key minutes and had two blocks and a steal.

After what was surely a disappointing season for Moore, he was once again faced with a decision.  Will he put in the work to make the necessary improvements?  As you’ll read below, although it is still very early in year two, the answer to that question seems to be emerging.

ESSENTIALS

• Height:  6-foot-10
• Weight:  230
• Position:  Forward
• Class:  Sophomore
• Hometown:  Ambler, Pennsylvania
• High School:  Hatboro-Horsham

2017-18 STATISTICS

• Minutes per game:  4.8
• Points per game:  .7
• Blocks per game:  .7
• Rebounds per game:  .9
• Turnovers per game:  .2
• FG%:  25%
• 3FG%:  0%
• FT%:  N/A

WHAT THEY ARE SAYING

Juwan Morgan on Moore’s year over year development on the Kent Sterling Show on 1430 AM in Indianapolis:

“He’s made great strides, he’s a lot stronger, he’s a lot more comfortable in himself.  We compared him to Bambi a lot (last year), just how he ran.  He wasn’t comfortable out there but he’s a lot more comfortable now.  There was a time when I probably scored 15 to 20 straight times on him and now he’s blocking shots, holding his own ground.  He’s come a long way in a year.”

Devonte Green, also on the Kent Sterling Show, after saying that Moore had made the biggest progress on the team during the offseason:

“He’s long, he’s a shot blocker, he’s matured, he’s matured his game, he’s more patient, he’s grinding.”

WHAT 2018-19 SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE

The depth in the IU front court is well documented.  Can Moore see increased minutes despite the addition of players like Evan Fitzner, Jake Forrester, and Race Thompson on top of the other returning forwards?  You saw what Morgan and Green said about Moore’s improvement, but will it be enough?

First of all — give this kid credit.  He obviously had a tough first season, and he chose to work harder and fight for a role on this team.  He also added ten pounds of muscle year over year.

One way to see the floor is by having a niche, and we think Moore has it.  There is limited data to make this assessment, but we think Moore just might be the best rim protector on the team.  His wingspan is quite literally a huge asset, and in games like Northwestern he showed it.  Moore’s shot blocking prowess was again on display at Hoosier Hysteria, when he sent a Jerome Hunter attempt into the seats.

We suspect that if Moore saw extended action, he’d rack up a pretty impressive blocked shots total.  Will it be enough to get him into games?  Maybe.  At least in situations.  We can imagine a time where perhaps a particular player is getting to the rim on a regular basis and Moore’s length might be able to impact his shot.

If he can really refine that specialty while he continues to work on the rest of his game — Moore could carve out a respectable four year career in Bloomington.

Previous Player Previews:

• Damezi Anderson
• Jake Forrester
• Jerome Hunter
• Romeo Langford
• Rob Phinisee
• Race Thompson
• Vijay Blackmon
• Al Durham

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