seattlebear02;842763435 said:
Whether it's 0 or 1 assist...it does not matter to me. Honestly, a lot of people on this board are making SUCH a big deal over Moore not having more assists vs UCI as if he is not a team player and is some sort of ball hog. I ask if those people actually watched the game. Moore carried us on offense while no one else was a legitimate scoring threat. Singer and Domingo are inconsistent shooters. We all know this. Rooks and Kingsley could not handle several of Moore's passes, and on top of this Rooks got fouled several times on a few plays set up by Moore. Moore could've easily had 4-5 assists. We'll see what happens when Bird, Mullens, and Rabb get back in the lineup and I suspect you will see more assists from Moore.
Lastly, if you watch Moore's high school clips you will see someone who is a willing passer and team player. Love this kid's potential.
I agree with nearly all the comments here. Other than himself, the only fairly reliable option Moore had was Rooks. We don't run back door cuts or things that would give all players a chance at an open layup, and many of our assists come from passing to a three-point shooter, and our two best were out injured. Without watching up close and personal, I can't fault our post men for not being able to handle a pass from Moore. An assist takes two or more players to accomplish. The last two seasons, one of my gripes was that big men are slower, and usually are not skilled or not capable of handling a three-foot pass from a quick guard in the lane, and we were trying to make too many of those three-foot passes, which were usually fumbled by the big. The point is Moore needs time to get to know where to get the ball to Rooks where Rooks likes to have it, and the same for KO and Ivan and the rest, and they need to learn how to position themselves for those passes. It is a team game.
Still, Moore did have Bird and Mullins for games one and two, and Moore had only one assist in each of those games. The assist part of the game comes with players getting familiar with each other, and is not likely to be consistent in the early season. The individual part of the game, creating your shot and making the shot, is something you can learn by yourself in the schoolyard after everyone has gone home. All the flashy assists you see Moore make in his high school tapes are assists he is likely making with teammates that he has some familiarity with, maybe a few years of familiarity. He is new to his Cal teammates, and his assists will probably come with time.
