Much Moore than a placeholder
Omari Moore has come as advertised.
One day into the Niagara River Lions training camp, the 23-year-old Pasadena, Calif., native had already made an immediate impression on Niagara head coach/GM Victor Raso.
“First of all, he is a great kid,” he said. “That it what I had heard from everybody I talked to while recruiting him. He is a phenomenal person and a great teammate so in the last 24 hours he has been exactly as advertised.”
On the basketball court, he is equally impressive.
“He is a little savvier that you expect for someone his age. He can think the point guard position, he can pick things up and he is a very dynamic athlete.”
Defensive Player and Clutch Player of the Year Khalil Ahmad will miss the first six or seven games of the Canadian Elite Basketball League season because his overseas season is ongoing until mid-June and his spot will be filled by Moore.
“It actually works out quite well. Khalil will come back at the same time Omari will go to summer league with the Raptors,” Raso said. “At the end of summer league, he will be back and we will reevaluate then.”
The 6-foot-6 guard arrives in Niagara following a season as the starting point guard for the Raptors 905 in the NBA G League. There, he averaged 9.3 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists per game.
He played his collegiate ball at San Jose State University where he averaged averaging 11.1 points, 3.7 assists and 4.4 rebounds in 116 games. He concluded his career as the fourth-highest scorer in program history and is a former Mountain West Player of the Year and First Team All-Mountain West member
Moore started his pro career in the NBA Summer League with the Milwaukee Bucks and averaged averaged 2.6 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.4 steals over five games.
He arrived in Niagara following plenty of discussions with his agent and Raso.
“It sounded like a really good opportunity. Coach Vic had a really good development plan for me and I wanted to be a part of something special. For years, the River Lions have been really competitive and I wanted to be a part of that.”
Moore has heard good things about Niagara.
“I know it was the first team that was part of the CEBL and they even had their organization before the league was created. Every year they are very successful and they haven’t quite got over that hump yet to win a championship but coach Vic and the rest of the staff are very good and I am excited about that.”
He is ready to help out on the court in whatever way he can.
“I just want to contribute to winning, whatever that means for coach. If that means playing defence the whole game, if he needs me to score or the little things to help mesh with the team and help it get over the hump.”
He describes his style as playing with energy all game.
“I am going to get to the rim, make athletic plays, find my teammates, make open shots and play defence.”
Moore can’t wait to begin the journey.
“I am excited about playing, being coached by all these coaches and just getting up and down, playing and competing.”
There was never any thought of resting on his laurels and not playing this summer.
“I just want to keep getting better. All these ‘off seasons’ are really important for me and the best way to get better is not reps outside of playing. You need to be playing games and I really think this will be beneficial for me.”
He feels he is at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to his pro career.
“I have a lot of room to grow as a player on and off the court so I am excited to see where I can get but none of it will come without hard work.”
The next step in his progression is to continue to get stronger.
“Everyone at the pro level is really strong and I also have to continue to improve my shooting. The way the game is changing, you need to be able to make shots whenever you are open and sometimes when you are not open.”
Training camp is the first time he has been in Niagara.
“I spent the last year in Mississauga so I am a little familiar with Canada.”
He jokingly agreed that he might have to become a Canadian citizen.
“I love it out here. The winters are cold because I am a California kid but everyone is nice, the food is good, it is a beautiful city and all the cities are really nice. And the nature too.”
Training conținues this week at Ridley College and the team will play a scrimmage game Tuesday at 4 p.m. at Canada Games Park.
Niagara opens on the road May 24 on the road against the Brampton Honey Badgers before hosting Brampton May 30 at 7 p.m. at the Meridian Centre.
Visit www.riverlions.ca/tickets for more information.
