Why Chance Moore Might Be a Game‑Changer for WVU Basketball This Season

Basketball season is creeping up on us as the West Virginia Mountaineers will be hosting Wheeling in an exhibition here in just a couple of weeks, nearly a week before the season opener versus Mount St. Mary's.

By now, most of you probably know that this year's team will be headlined by North Dakota transfer Treysen Eaglestaff, Chattanooga transfer Honor Huff, and North Texas transfer Brenen Lorient. Point guard Jasper Floyd (also from North Texas) and UNC-Wilmington transfer Harlan Obioha (7'0", 280 lbs) will round out the starting five, but what about beyond that first group?

There are a handful of names to keep your eyes on, but the one who is flying under the radar on West Virginia's roster is Chance Moore, who comes in from St. Bonaventure. Moore, unfortunately, will be required to sit out the first five games of the season due to the NCAA approving his fifth year of eligibility. He played in five games in 2021-22 at Arkansas, but played just eight minutes.

For you basketball diehards, you may remember that a couple of years ago, Moore came to Morgantown with Missouri State for the season opener when Josh Eilert was the interim head coach for WVU. Moore led the Bears in scoring with 24 points on 8/19 shooting, including a 5/13 game from downtown. He also grabbed eight rebounds and swiped two steals, but WVU squeaked out a 67-59 win in the final minute.

All of the attention will be on Eaglestaff and Moore, and understandably so, but Moore is the piece who can really open the offense up and put stress on the defense. He's a three-level scorer who can finish through contact in the paint and will occasionally back down a defender in the post to hit turnaround J or fadeaway. The three-point shot is a thing of beauty when he gets rolling. The next step for him is to be more efficient, raising his 30% career shooting percentage from range. That should happen naturally with better shot selection and having more capable scorers around him.

His 0.7 assists per game average doesn't tell the whole story. Whether he was at Missouri State or St. Bonaventure, he had to be a primary scorer for his team to have a chance — no pun intended— to win. He's a much better passer than that number suggests, and I think we'll see that right away as he eases into his role.

His length, athleticism, and ball-handling allow him to play one through three on both ends of the floor. He's not afraid to get amongst the trees and fight and scrap for a rebound, which does show in his rebounding totals throughout his career. Last year with the Bonnies, he led the team in rebounding with 6.5 boards per game.

Moore's first game being eligible would be November 21st against Clemson in the Shriners Children's Charleston Classic.

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