Published: January 06, 2008 10:18 pm            

From the Press Box: Ensemble cast makes Gabe Moore’s show a hit for ISU

TERRE HAUTE — Coaches and fans alike love it when victories play out as Indiana State’s 74-56 win over Northern Iowa did on Saturday at Hulman Center.

So many contributors, so many players who had a good game. Who was the star of the show?

Was it Jay Tunnell, who shook off a recent slump to score 19 points and play good defense against UNI’s big men? Was it Harry Marshall, who scored nine points while giving his usual energy and defense? Was it Adam Arnold, who didn’t have a great statistical line, but whose energy was vital to ISU’s defense in the paint? Or was it a youngster like Lamar Lee or Aaron Carter, both of whom came off the bench and guided ISU as steadily as their veteran teammates?

Actually, the star of the show is an easier question to answer than you might think. Saturday’s game was the ultimate example of how it’s Gabe Moore’s show. It’s been Gabe Moore’ show throughout ISU’s 3-0 Missouri Valley Conference start.

And the great thing for ISU is that in Gabe Moore’s show, there is no one star, it’s an ensemble cast.

Moore’s stat line was good enough to be an individual star of the show on Saturday. Moore wasn’t far off a triple-double as he had seven points, seven assists and eight rebounds with only two turnovers.

That’s nothing new. Moore’s averaging 14 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists and 1.7 steals per game in the three conference games to date.

“I think what’s helping me out is I’m not trying to score a lot of points, I’m just taking what they give me and hopefully my teammates can back me up and right now, they’re doing that,” Moore said.

It’s a testament to what experience means at the point. Moore, a senior, is in his fourth season running the show for the Sycamores.

“It’s no secret that a really good point guard is hard to come by. There aren’t a lot of great ones out there and Gabe is one of those,” UNI coach Ben Jacobson said. “You have to give [Moore] a lot of credit, because he’s got some young guys playing with him right now, but he’s got them on the same page and it hasn’t taken them long to adjust to a new system. Most times you can credit the point guard. He’s doing a terrific job.”

It’s always pure gold to have experience at the point, but it carries more weight than ever in the Valley this season considering league-wide youth at the position.

The only other Valley team with a senior starting point guard that can match Moore’s four years in the Valley wars is Bradley’s Daniel Ruffin, and Ruffin is out 6 to 8 weeks with an abdominal injury. Illinois State’s Boo Richardson is the only other Valley senior point guard, but he’s in his second go-around in the Valley after transferring from junior college.

“I think the experience means a lot. There’s not a whole lot of seniors in the league. You have Ruffin, who is the only one on my level who played a lot of minutes as a freshman. But he’s hurt and Bradley’s struggling [0-3 start in conference],” Moore noted.

Moore has unquestionably improved his game. He’s always had a prototypical teammates-first approach as a point guard, but Moore was also sometimes too unselfish.

This year, he is striking the perfect balance between making his teammates better and keeping himself among the offensive options. Moore’s decision-making, especially since the conference season began, has been nearly flawless.

“He doesn’t say much, but he’s perceptive, and he’s starting to pick his spots as far as when he should be attacking and when he needs to run something. It’s taken a while, but it’s been worth the wait so far,” ISU coach Kevin McKenna said.

But even more his decision-making, Moore doesn’t panic. When Creighton applied its well-oiled press for the duration of Wednesday’s 62-54 win, Moore was the settling influence, inbounding the ball and taking it back immediately off the inbounds. The disruptive element of the Bluejays’ press was neutralized by Moore’s refusal to be rattled by it.

Everyone knew Creighton’s press coming,, but when UNI uncharacteristically pressed in the second half on Saturday, Moore was the only Sycamore who calmed ISU down. The Panthers only put a minimal dent in ISU’s lead.

Confidence goes hand-in-hand with experience. Dare I say it? Moore has been cagey at times.

There was no better example than ISU’s first bucket of the second half against UNI. Moore dribbled baseline on what seemed to be a languorous sortie into the paint. Moore slowly circled around UNI center Jordan Eglseder a couple of feet from the hoop, drawing Eglseder a step away from the basket to help.

With a lightning-quick turn, Moore threw a behind-Eglseder’s-back pass to Tunnell, who made a perfectly-timed cut, and had the space inside for an easy back door dunk.

The mind’s eye turns back to the Dec. 30 game at Evansville, where Moore chose himself as the scoring option on two straight possessions. Near the free throw line, Moore put a crossover dribble on Evansville point guard Jason Holsinger that was so diabolical, Holsinger fell down on Moore’s right side, and Moore made an easy 7-footer.

On the next ISU possession, Moore’s used his earlier move to great effect, shoulder-faking Holsinger to his right, then blowing by him on the left for an uncontested layup.

“It’s invaluable [to have Moore’s experience]. Gabe’s hungry, you can tell by the way he’s playing. He played like that last year too, but I think the guys are believing in what we’re doing and having fun playing together. Gabe’s an experienced player who competes really hard,” McKenna said.

ISU has a lot of reasons to be pleased with its 3-0 Valley start. And as long as the Gabe Moore show continues to give each of the Sycamores their own star turn, ISU has no reason to doubt its surprise hit Valley show won’t go on.

Todd Golden is sports editor of the Tribune-Star. He can be reached at (812) 231-4272 or todd.golden@tribstar.com. Check out Golden’s blog at blogs.tribstar.com/downinthevalley.

        

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