Report: Bulldogs Guard Shakeel Moore Entering Transfer Portal

Mississippi State men's basketball guard Shakeel Moore will spend his graduate year outside of Starkville, Miss.

Mississippi State men's basketball guard Shakeel Moore is expected to enter the transfer portal, per On3's Jamie Shaw. The senior will enter as a grad transfer.

Moore started in 22 of his 33 games played this season and in 23.5 minutes per contest, he averaged 7.9 points on 46.8 percent shooting from the field and 36.3 percent from downtown. Additionally, he collected 1.8 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 0.8 steals per game.

This won't be the first time Moore has transferred as he came to Starkville, Miss. after spending his freshman year at NC State. His time spent on the Bulldogs' floor had a gradual decline over three seasons as he averaged 28 minutes per game in his sophomore year, 26.3 minutes in his junior year and this season he was playing just 23.5 minutes.

That said, Moore made a big impact with the starters and bench players this season, as he helped the Bulldogs earn a 21-14 regular season record, two SEC Tournament victories and an appearance in the first round of the annual NCAA Tournament.

One likely factor in the decline this season was the emergence of freshman phenom guard Josh Hubbard. Hubbard finished the year averaging 27.7 minutes per game despite only starting in the final 16 games--most of which had Moore changing to a sixth-man role. He's been showered with honors, including landing a spot on the All-SEC Second Team and the conference's All-Freshman Team.

Hubbard recently announced that he's returning for a sophomore with the maroon and white, meaning that a starting role for him and another minute restriction for Moore, who as previously stated is entering a graduate season, would've been inevitable. Moore will likely transfer to a school where he'll have much more time on the floor, as his skillset and numbers could be of good use to many teams.