Westside's Khavon Moore progressing in only fourth year of competition

Khavon Moore wasn't always a gym rat. In fact, he wasn't playing competitively in the gym at all.

Growing up in Syracuse, New York, the now-Westside sophomore basketball player never played on a basketball team.

"I just was an athlete," Moore said.

But once he moved to Macon and reached Miller Middle School, he started taking basketball more seriously -- at least enough to actually join a team. Moore said he worked with one of the assistant coaches for his seventh-grade team during his first competitive year.

And then he reached eighth grade.

"That's when I started taking it serious, and now it's starting to pay off," Moore said. "At that point, definitely, I knew I could play in college."

He appears to be on the right path. After improving his scoring average by more than seven points per game this year -- 14 as a freshman and now 21.5 as a sophomore -- Moore has gone national.

The website 247Sports.com currently ranks Moore as the top player in Georgia, the second-best small forward in the nation and the 10th-best overall player in the 2018 class. ESPN and Rivals rate him as a five-star recruit.

"He's definitely the best player that I've been able to coach since I've been here," eighth-year Westside head coach Josh Grube said. "We know what we're getting out of him every night, and he's one of the guys who makes the players around him better."

But while he makes others better, Moore has been the one who has progressed in his four competitive years of play, especially from last year, specifically. As a freshman, Moore registered 14 points, 7.2 rebounds, 3.1 assists, two steals and 1.9 blocks per game, and he scored 20-plus points three times.

But as a sophomore, the 6-foot-8 Moore has improved his perimeter shot enough to score 20 or more points in 15 of Westside's 22 outings.

"The biggest improvement I've seen from him is his perimeter shooting has improved tremendously," Grube said. "He's a tough matchup because he's 6-foot-8 and can handle the ball on the wing. And then he's one of our better rebounders, as well. If you got a smaller guard on him, then we can go to the post and post him up."

Moore also said his biggest improvement has been his 3-point shot, not only from last year but throughout his playing career. In 2014-15, Moore connected on 20 3-pointers but shot 27 percent.

As a sophomore, Moore has made 12 more 3s in six fewer games and shoots at a 33-percent clip. But he doesn't only score; Moore adds 10.7 rebounds, 3.9 assists, 2.8 steals and 2.8 blocks per game on top of his point totals.

Grube said Moore "doesn't think about himself" while on the court; rather, he called the highly touted Seminoles star unselfish.

"He makes his teammates better," Grube said. "He's not just the highly talented player that's all about himself. He does whatever the team needs to do. If we need a rebound, he'll get the rebound. If he needs to make a pass, he'll make the pass."

Moore's play has led to the nationwide recognition, but Grube said they don't really talk much about his national rankings.

"He's not concerned about that stuff," Grube said. "He's concerned about getting better every day and helping his teammates get better every day and help Westside win basketball games."

And those goals at Westside include winning a region championship and making it to the Macon Coliseum, according to Moore. Although Moore said "a lot of (colleges) have been coming at me," he tries to stay humble and stay in the gym -- which, according to Grube, he does.

"He loves being in the gym," Grube said. "He loves putting in the work."

And that's because Moore wants more. While Moore and Grube don't discuss his national or statewide ranking much, Moore is aware of it. And he's not complacent.

"I'm top 25," Moore said, "but I want to be top five or No. 1 in my class."