Rumors swirled about a month ago over a potential J.J. Moore transfer. All was quiet for a while until head coach Jamie Dixon mentioned he was helping Moore find a new home a couple of weeks ago.
Now, Moore's destination is known - he's heading to Rutgers. He apparently also considered Iona and Quinnipiac.
Moore will have to sit out a season, but as is the case most of the time these days, he's applying for a special hardship waiver due to a sick grandfather.
And, oh yeah, count the style of play as a reason Moore wanted out:
"I’m just a running guy and with the athleticism here, they look like a running team," Moore said. "I like to run and get out there and be more assertive."
...
"I know Coach (Jamie) Dixon is a good coach and I give him praise for that, but I wanted to be more of a run-and-gun type player," Moore said. "I’m still going to stick with the defense that (Pitt) taught me."
Eddie Jordan, a former pro assistant, is the new man in charge at Rutgers. One interesting note is that he was also in at the 11th hour chasing Pitt recruiting target Jon Severe earlier this year.
If Moore can get the waiver, the move makes more sense. But as I said before, I'm not sure why after a player invested three long years into a program he would want to leave for just a single season. But either Moore really wanted to be home near his family or he was just extremely miserable at Pitt. Either way, I'll miss his game.
He was never the most consistent of Pitt players, but was just a great athlete. The biggest problem as I see it is that Pitt's depth is just hurt by the move. Someone like Jamel Artis could be forced into more minutes and the Panthers lose another player familiar with the system. I'll listen to the argument that Moore isn't a great player, but I don't think this is a minimal loss.
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