The Recruiting Guy

Moore's hard work paying off

North Little Rock’s Collin Moore drives in for a dunk against Bentonville West on Friday during the Class 7A boys state tournament. North Little Rock won 66-41 to advance to today’s semifinals.

— Woodz Elite 17-under coach Charles Baker likes what he’s seeing from North Little Rock’s Collin Moore in the early stages of spring basketball.

“You can tell he’s really worked on his skill level this past year,” said Baker, who coached Moore and the 16-under Arkansas Wings last spring and summer. “He’s handling the ball a lot better. He’s very athletic, very athletic and can get to the rim and slash, and he’s really good in transition. He rebounds the ball very well for a perimeter guy. He’s an SEC-caliber athlete.”

Moore (6-5, 186) has an offer from Arkansas-Little Rock and is drawing interest from Arkansas, Baylor, Texas, Maryland, Virginia Tech and others. Hard work has helped improve his skills.

“I’ve been working,” said Moore, who turns 17 on May 10. “Working on my jump shot and trying to get more confidence. Getting my jump shot right, my pull-up. Attacking more aggressively.”

He averaged 15.2 points, 6.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists and was named to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette All-Arkansas Preps team after leading the Charging Wildcats to a Class 7A State Championship.

“It was a great year,” Moore said. “We sacrificed a lot of things to win a championship. We worked and we played hard.”

Baker thinks Moore’s length gives him a chance to be a top-notch defender.

“Really aggressive,” Baker said. “He gets his hands on a lot of balls. He’s got a chance to be an elite defender.”

Moore said schools are recruiting him as a shooting guard, which has motivated him to achieve a lofty goal.

“To be a complete shooting guard,” Moore said. “Be the best shooting guard in the country.”