Moore Stars
Freshman guard Alexis Moore scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half in his first game replacing injured guard Jio Fontan. Moore also had four assists and one turnover in the Trojans' 76-64 victory over Tijuca. USC finished its Brazilian tour with a 2-2 record.
Dewayne Dedmon led USC with 19 points while Maurice Jones also scored 16.
I know no one wants to sound like "hurray! we have a terrific point guard, no loss!" with Fontan just being injured for the season. It seems pretty crass and inconsiderate. But let's be real, Fontan's gone for the year and we all wanted to see what Alexis could do.
He was the best guard in the state, with a terrific jump shot (with range), terrific finishing even in the half court, terrific ball handling (constant control, slippery against traps and presses) and terrific strength and quickness. His ability to stop, start, change direction and elevate all while staying under control shows rare strength and athleticism. He distributes the ball very well and sees the court, and he is good at pulling the defense and dishing.
One thing I want to see though; in high school he used the jump pass too much-- kid needs to develop the bounce pass (and the basic variety of passes) and learn to keep his feet because college players will be smart enough to anticipate the jump pass and get easy steals from him. And those assists look good but can he just get the team through its set offense, move without the ball and play a two or three man game that O'Neill uses as well and Fontan readily picked up on? Can't wait to see!