Saturday, April 23, 2011
Posted: 1:15 a.m.
By Ryan Feldman
CSNPhilly.com Contributor
Temple junior Ramone Moore will declare for the NBA draft.
Moore has not signed with an agent, which means he still has the option of withdrawing from the draft and returning to Temple.
For now, he is just testing the waters, but he has not ruled out signing with an agent. Moore will sign the paperwork to make it official on Saturday.
The deadline for underclassmen to declare for the NBA draft is this Sunday. The deadline for underclassmen to withdraw from the NBA draft is May 8.
He was debating whether would he even declare or not, because its his goal to bring another A-10 championship to Temple and go deep in the NCAA tournament next year, one source close to Moore said. But on the same token, hes heard that, with so many people pulling out the draft and the great year hes had, he has a chance to be picked in the NBA draft. He hasnt ruled out coming back to school, but he hasnt ruled out staying in the draft either.
Moore, a 6-foot-4, 180-pound guard, averaged 15.2 points, 4.2 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game this season as a redshirt junior. He shot 44.7 percent from the field and 38.3 percent on three-point attempts while helping guide Temple to the third round of the NCAA tournament. Moore scored a career-high 30 points in a win over Georgetown on Dec. 9. He scored in double figures in 29 of 34 games this season.
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An NBA scout said that Moore has some positive attributes, but that he still has a lot to work on to be an NBA player.
Hes definitely a potent college scorer, the NBA scout said. Hes definitely gotten a lot better since last year. He has the ability to score without being selfish. But he has to prove that hes hard to guard by NBA standards.
The NBA scout added that juniors often enter the NBA draft because they have nothing to lose, so theres nothing wrong with Moore doing the same, going through some workouts and getting feedback from NBA teams.
Some people say, Im just trying to get my name out there, and theres nothing wrong with that, the NBA scout said.
Moore, a Philadelphia native, is not projected to be selected in the upcoming June 23 NBA draft as of now. But he hopes that he can impress NBA teams at workouts, especially a massive group workout for underclassmen hosted by the New Jersey Nets on May 7-8. If he can catch the eye of NBA teams there, then anything is possible. If not, theres nothing to lose. At the very least, Moore will gauge the interest of NBA teams and find out what he needs to work on in the next year.
He really adores his coaching staff and didnt want to disrupt the team at all with this decision, the source said. But right now he felt that it would be the best thing to enter the draft and maybe even get into that May workout in New Jersey. Hes very hopeful that he can get into that workout in New Jersey and display his talents there.
Ramones a good kid. Hes always been family-oriented. He loves Temple basketball and what it stands for. The opportunity of being an NBA player is something hes always dreamed of. Right now, that dream has a chance of becoming a reality, and he wants to take full advantage of it.
Moore has made significant improvements during his time at Temple. His points, rebounds and assists per game averages have increased from his freshman to sophomore year and sophomore to junior year.
If Moore keeps his name in the NBA draft, it will be a significant loss for Temple. The Owls are already losing senior Lavoy Allen. But if Moore does return, the Owls will have one of the better backcourts in college basketball, with Moore and Juan Fernandez, and they would likely begin next season ranked in the Top 25.
Ryan Feldman covers college basketball and the NBA Draft for his website, TheHoopsReport.com. He can be reached at rfeldman@thehoopsreport.com