Shakeel Moore made his first start for KU basketball. He impressed this Jayhawk star
Shakeel Moore contributed six points and six assists on offense — while drawing rave reviews for his defense in limiting UCF’s Darius Johnson to three points on 1-of-8 shooting — in Kansas’ 99-48 men’s basketball victory over the Knights on Sunday afternoon in Orlando, Florida.
Yes, the 6-foot-1 former Mississippi State guard’s first start as a Kansas Jayhawk — which included three rebounds and a steal in 20 minutes — had to be classified as a resounding success.
“He came out with passion defensively. That’s where he’s going to help us best, being a dog defender. Being able to pick up 94 feet can change the game defensively,” KU senior center Hunter Dickinson said after leading the way with 27 points and nine rebounds in 23 minutes.
“Shak can help Juan. Juan (Harris, guard who held Jordan Ivy-Curry to five points on 1-of-5 shooting) is a great defender,” Dickinson added. “Having another guy to go with him … (Moore) is a basketball player, athletic. He can help us offensively as well.”
Moore — he has been out much of the season because of a foot injury — entered Sunday’s game with nine points in 29 minutes played over five games (no starts).
KU, with Moore in the starting lineup, led 8-3 at the first media timeout. He did have two turnovers at the 15:23 mark, however he did not turn it over again.
“Shak is from the SEC, too. I played against him,” said KU junior guard Rylan Griffen, a transfer from Alabama who had his best offensive game as a Jayhawk — 14 points on 4-of-4 3-point shooting. “He did what he always does, played great defense, looked to get others the ball, got downhill, made shots. He did great today. I’m very happy and proud of him, proud of what he did.”
Moore, who played just two minutes in the game before UCF — KU’s 62-61 home loss to West Virginia — said it was gratifying to see the Jayhawks’ offense come alive in Florida.
The difference between the WVU game and UCF contest?
“I would say practice,” said Moore, who said he had no preference starting or coming off the bench. “It wasn’t anything West Virginia did. It was all on us. We had our minds twisted offensively. Stacking days of practice … we got better as a group. We brought energy.”
Moore’s former buddy from the SEC, Griffen, had his best game as a Jayhawk. His previous high in points as a Jayhawk was 10 against both Michigan State and Furman. His previous high in 3s as a Jayhawk was three versus Oakland.
“I know I can make shots,” Griffen said. “That’s what I did last year for my (Bama) team. It’s a matter of getting in a rhythm. I got in a rhythm last year about this time to be honest. I had a game against Missouri I was 5-of-7 from 3. After that I started taking off in conference play. Hopefully the same thing will happen here.”
Griffen said he has never had a confidence problem and didn’t sense any confidence problems from his teammates despite the anemic offensive showing against West Virginia.
“We kind of gave them that game. That loss was on us,” Griffen said. “We’ve got to play to our standard. West Virginia wasn’t our standard at all. We had to play better. That’s all that was. We didn’t stop believing in each other.”
This story was originally published January 6, 2025 at 10:21 AM.
