Westside’s Moore dunking way through his junior year

Westside Seminoles fans saw a familiar sight Tuesday in a 72-35 rout of Peach County.

Senior point guard Samone Reed had a steal and an open lane to the basket with junior forward and five-star recruit Khavon Moore following behind. Reed lobbed the ball off the backboard, and in a fantastic display of athleticism, Moore slammed the ball through the basket.

The play was indicative of the way the Seminoles play — fast, tough and always looking to swing the momentum in their favor.

No one does it better than Moore, who is having an outstanding season. The 6-foot-8 guard hailing from New York is averaging a double-double with 22.2 points and nearly 11 rebounds per game. While those are impressive statistics, it is a different area of his game that impresses head coach Josh Grube.

“To be as good as he is, he’s the most unselfish basketball player with that amount of talent that I’ve ever seen,” Grube said. “Sometimes I think he passes too much.”

It is a good problem to have. Moore’s unselfish facilitation of the offense is a big reason why his Seminoles are 16-3 and in sole possession of first place in GHSA Region 4-3A. When asked about his unselfish character, Moore likened it to one player in particular.

“LeBron James, just because he’s real humble, and he’s just great,” Moore said.

James’ passing is not the only thing Moore tries to emulate. His leadership qualities, as well, are obvious in the way Moore challenges his teammates at practice.

“I do my best to push everybody, on the court pushing everybody at practice, getting on to them about their mistakes ... but I make sure I do my part, as well,” Moore said.

The junior said he understands that he cannot ask his teammates to do anything he would not do himself, and that starts on the practice floor. It even shows in conditioning, where Moore was seen laughing and smiling during post-workout sprints.

The easy smile is indicative of the way Moore is on and off the floor. Grube called Moore one of the biggest jokesters on his squad. When asked who was the biggest comedian on the team Moore smiled and said, “I’m up there.”

It is no laughing matter on the floor. Moore is a lethal scorer. He scored 53 points against Kendrick last week to set the Westside single-game program record. It’s one of only a few goals he has set for himself before he looks to play at the next level.

The short list includes 2,000 points, the single-season 3-point record and the single-season assist record.

Grube said he told Moore that he is not so much a 3-point shooter, but a scorer. But he recognized that seven 3-pointers in the win over Kendrick are hard to argue with.

Moore has another season to play at Westside, but he has already garnered offers from high-major programs like Florida State, Oklahoma and Connecticut, according to 247sports.com. More offers are sure to come.

The offers have not been a distraction. Moore and Grube said that it is all about basketball right now.

“He’s real grounded about it,” Grube said. “He doesn’t walk around here like, ‘I got all this and that.’ He’s not like that at all.”

“Sometimes it can be a lot.” Moore said. “As of right now, I just try to take it all in ... focus on what I need to stay focused on.”

Much of that focus is attributed to family. Moore said his family is close. He described his relationship with his mother as “like this” while crossing his middle and forefinger to resemble a knot.

“My mom doesn’t miss a game. My mom never misses a game. It doesn’t matter where we go. She doesn’t care, she’ll be there,” Moore said.

Moore’s mother has not missed any action this season and hopefully will not miss any of her son’s fantastic play that already includes four 25-point performances, nine double-doubles and some mind-boggling dunks. The Seminoles return to the court at 7:30 p.m. on Friday at Southwest.

“It’s amazing. I get goose bumps sometimes watching him play like that,” Grube said. “He is a once in a lifetime type of player to coach.”

This story was originally published January 26, 2017 at 4:00 PM with the headline "Westside’s Moore dunking way through his junior year."