Whether you like it or whether you don’t (and for the most part we don’t) the Marcus LoVett hype is here to stay. And while some of it is justified, there is still an all-too-large segment of it that remains completely over the top thanks to the contingent of Chicago media mopes that comprise the Chicago hype machine.
But enough of that–that is not what we are here to talk about. Instead, we prefer to discuss LoVett’s sidekick–5’9 2016 guard Charlie Moore–who still doesn’t get the credit he deserves from the media and other “talent evaluators/recruiting analysts.” Moore also continues to be highly disrespected in the eyes of college recruiters despite the fact that he is enjoying a spectacular junior season at Morgan Park.
This past summer Moore played as well as any player in Illinois from the 2016 class. He was terrific at the prestigious Riverside-Brookfield Summer Shootout as well as on the travel team circuit with his star-studded Mac Irvin Fire squad. At that time Illinois Prep Bulls-eye said that based on performance alone Moore could make a strong case for ranking as the top 2016 player in the state.
Things have changed a bit since then, as a few other 2016 have proven their worth with respect to being right at the top of the class. Nevertheless, we believe that Moore can still lay claim to being ranked among the top five and that he is a potential high major recruit. For those who disagree, we are about to turn the clock back not quite 24 hours and highlight Moore’s effort in Morgan Park’s 73-70 victory over Chicago Public League Red-South rival Bogan.
While LoVett was also very good versus Bogan yesterday, Moore was even better. He finished with 29 points and 4 assists. More importantly, Moore showed tremendous composure and the ability to come up big in crunch time. And here’s the thing–performances such as this one have been the norm rather than the exception for Moore.
When LoVett arrived at Morgan Park this past Fall there were questions raised (and we admit we were among the doubters at the time) as to if Moore could co-exist with him in the same back court. Not only has he proven that he can, but he actually seems to thrive off of LoVett’s game to the point where the two have proven to be perfect complements to one another.
This was certainly in evidence yesterday in the final ten seconds of the game versus Bogan. During that stretch, Moore hit a huge 3-pointer which was followed by a LoVett steal and bucket to seal the win. Like LoVett, he is comfortable at either guard position and simply does whatever it takes to win games.
At the present time Moore holds only a trio of D1 scholarship offers from Bradley, UIC and St. John’s, which we find absolutely amazing. He has also received varying degrees of interest from Iowa, DePaul, Illinois and others. From all that we have seen of Moore we have to ask: “what reservations could a D1 coach possibly have?” Oh that’s right–we almost forgot. According to many of them, he is too undersized. And to that the only response we can offer is “what a crock of crap!”
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We welcome comments regarding this story or any other entry published by Illinois Prep Bulls-eye. They can be made by e-mailing us at [email protected].
Continue to check in with Illinois Prep Bulls-eye for all of the latest as it pertains to recruiting and high school basketball in Illinois.
We welcome comments regarding this story or any other entry published by Illinois Prep Bulls-eye. They can be made by e-mailing us at [email protected].
Continue to check in with Illinois Prep Bulls-eye for all of the latest as it pertains to recruiting and high school basketball in Illinois.
