FAYETTEVILLE — Arkansas basketball coach Eric Musselman landed the commitment of one of the nation’s top 50 players in the 2021 class Saturday.
Chance Moore, a 6-5, 195-pound shooting guard/small forward from Powder Springs (Ga.) McEachern, chose Arkansas over Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Alabama, LSU, Auburn, Ole Miss, Clemson, Florida State, Georgetown, Xavier and others.
Moore was offered by the Razorbacks on May 29 and participated in a virtual tour with the program two days later. He and his father visited the Arkansas campus this weekend.
“I just got a great vibe and I have felt a lot lot of energy from the coaching staff since they started recruiting me,” Moore said. “I love the way Coach Muss really breaks down the game and I am very impressed with what he has done with he program, especially just going into his second year there. I think it is going to be a great situation for me.”
Moore is ranked as the 44th-best player in the 2021 class by ESPN, 83rd by 247Sports and 92nd by Rivals.
ESPN also has Moore ranked as the ninth-best small forward nationally and the third-best prospect in Georgia.
He is the Razorbacks' first pledge in the 2021 class and the fifth consecutive top 100 national high school commit or signee for Arkansas in less than a year.
The Razorbacks signed four home-grown prospects in a 2020 class that was ranked fifth nationally.
Auburn has signed four players from McEachern in the past two years, but Moore wanted to walk his own path and was able to get in some summer basketball despite the covid-19 pandemic.
“I was playing AAU actually,” Moore said. “I played in about four tournaments and I recently just stopped, but I have been able to put in a lot of great work, just working on my game and treating my body right.”
Moore arrived in Georgia just before the season and overcame an early injury to help lead defending Class 7A state champion McEachern (22-6) deep into the state playoffs again.
McEachern has been ranked as one of the nation’s top-five high school teams the past three seasons.
“I transitioned pretty well and was the sixth man for them,” Moore said. “We did pretty well. We made it to the final four, but came up short. Overall it was a pretty good experience.”
Arkansas will lose graduate transfers Jalen Tate, Vance Jackson and Justin Smith after the 2020-21 season, and will also likely lose junior guard Isaiah Joe to the NBA Draft.
“I think I have a real chance to come in and get a lot of playing time and maybe even start,” Moore said. “I really love what they are doing with the program.”