Moore will transfer to be close to father
Just three weeks after publicly praising the promotion of Wyking Jones from assistant to head coach at Cal, freshman point guard Charlie Moore announced Thursday that he intends to transfer closer to his ailing father in Chicago.
Moore’s father, Curtis, had a stroke in 2015 and is still in rehabilitation, which has left him watching games on TV instead of supporting his son in person.
“After many discussions with my family, I’ve made the decision to transfer to be closer to home,” Moore said in a statement. “This was an extremely difficult decision for me, but the opportunity to be closer to my family is one that I feel is necessary for me at this time. I am grateful for my first year at California and for teammates, who became my brothers.”
Moore had one of the most productive freshman seasons in Cal history, averaging 12.2 points per game and dishing out 120 assists. His assists and three-pointers (45) rank fifth all time among Cal freshmen, and he finished sixth in points (414) and seventh in free throws (99).
After Jones was promoted March 23, Moore seemed set on staying in Berkeley. “I’m ecstatic about the news,” he said at the time.
Something changed in the past three weeks as Moore and Jones had a series of discussions about the point guard’s role in the future of the program.
“Although I am disappointed that Charlie won’t be continuing his career with us, we respect his decision and want to thank him for his contributions to our team,” Jones said.
Moore’s transfer will leave the Bears with only two of the team’s top 10 scorers from the 2016-17 season. Center Kingsley Okoroh and guard Don Coleman combined for 281 of Cal’s 2,316 points. Cal signs 2 recruits: Forwards Justice Sueing, considered to be a four-star prospect by ESPN, and Grant Anticevich signed their national letters of intent to head to Berkeley for the 2017-18 school year.
“Grant is a skilled post player, who excels away from the basket with his ability to shoot and his exceptional passing,” Jones said in a news release. “... Justice is a versatile wing, who can score in a number of different ways and impact the game on both ends.”
Sueing, a 6-foot-6 small forward, played at Mater Dei-Santa Ana, where he averaged a teambest 18.2 points as a senior. Anticevich, a 6-8 power forward, played on the New South Wales state under-20 and under-18 squads at the Australian National Championships.
The two joinWooden High School Player of the Year Award winners Juhwan Harris-Dyson and Trevin Knell, who will serve a two-year LDS mission and reclassify to start school in 2019.