Temple’s Ramone Moore’s next stop will be Italy. (Philahoops file)
From a personal standpoint, Ramone Moore’s stay on North Broad Street was a successful one.
After being redshirted his first year and coming off the bench during his freshman and sophomore seasons, Moore’s career took off as he saw his minutes and statistics increase.
After receiving the 2009-10 Atlantic 10 Sixth Man of the Year award, Moore was inserted into the starting lineup by coach Fran Dunphy and the move paid big dividends. Moore averaged 15 points per game while shooting nearly 45 percent percent from the floor.
The season wound up being a huge success not just for Moore, but for the whole Temple squad. The Owls finished 29-5, making it to the Atlantic 10 conference tournament semifinals, and received a bid to the NCAA tournament as a seventh seed, coming within seconds of a Sweet 16 appearance following a double-overtime loss to San Diego State, in which Moore was the game’s leading scorer, shooting 7-for-12 from the field, netting 17 points.
The 2011-12 season brought with it even higher expectations.
Temple won its first regular-season outright A-10 title since 1990, posting a 24-8 record, and was awarded the fifth seed in the big dance.
Moore finished the season averaging a career-high 17.3 points per game, good for third in the conference, and was named to the All-Atlantic-10 first team.
Alongside fellow seniors Juan Fernandez, Micheal Eric, and junior guard Khalif Wyatt, Temple was poised for a big run in the tournament.
Unfortunately, that didn’t come to fruition and Temple fell to South Florida in the second round of the NCAA tournament. As a team, the Owls wound up shooting 36 percent from the field.
Temple’s Ramone Moore scored 1,393 career points. (Philahoops file)
Even worse for Moore, he had to deal with scoring just five points on the biggest stage to abruptly end his college career.
“You just got to give credit to those guys,” Moore said, reflecting on the loss to South Florida after participating in Sunday’s The-BALL showcase game. “They played a game before us, we actually watched it as a team and I just think they were more prepared.
“We came out sluggish, real slow, and we knew coming in they (South Florida) were a good defensive team and they showed it. It was kind of like a bad way to end my career but it is, what it is.”
With that in his rear-view mirror, Moore has moved on and now looks to have a prosperous career in professional basketball.
After starting five games for the Chicago Bulls’ summer league team in Las Vegas, Moore’s next stop in the professional basketball ring is Italy, after he signed a deal to hoop with the Italian club Angelico Biella.
With that next step, Moore is receiving advice from every corner, including some valuable guidance from former teammate and close friend Dionte Christmas, who after playing overseas in Greece, Israel, and the Czech Republic, cleared a path for himself to the National Basketball Association, signing a partially guaranteed deal with the Boston Celtics.
“Just don’t give up man. I was telling (Ramone Moore) that your first year overseas is going to be hard,” Christmas said. “You’re lonely. A lot of things are different than being home. It’s easy to give up. A lot of guys couldn’t cut it, or just stopped playing. Overseas, I think it gets you prepared for the next level, meaning the NBA. The last three years have definitely helped me get to the next level.
“I just keep telling him (Ramone Moore) to go over there and work hard. It’s kind of hard to self-motivate yourself to go in the gym when nobody’s there and work out and things like that, but you know he has a great drive and he knows what it takes to get there. He had a great showing in the summer league, and they’ll be watching.”
Moore will have to soak up that advice and run with it, in hopes that he too can pave a way for himself to the National Basketball Association.
For now though, the former Temple star that sits in 27th place on Temple’s all-time scoring list with 1,393 points, will have to persistently work on his game and stay focused on achieving his ultimate goal.
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-Chase Senior covers Temple for Philahoops. Contact him at chase@philahoops.com and follow on Twitter @ballsohardphi.
Chase Senior
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