Nic Moore granted release from Illinois State hoops team
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Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
NORMAL, Ill. – Rumors surrounding the transfer request of Illinois State University freshman Nic Moore were confirmed Wednesday afternoon. The university announced that the standout point guard has been granted a release from his basketball scholarship. Moore, who will have to sit out one full season according to NCAA rules, requested a release to a program in one of the six major conferences. It is unknown at this time where he will transfer. The announcement came a day after former Illinois State standout Dan Muller was introduced as the head coach. Tim Jankovich resigned last month and will be on head coach Larry Brown’s staff at Southern Methodist University. “As soon as Coach Jankovich left, I made up my mind and I knew I wanted to go play for a BCS program,” Moore said in a press release issued by the Illinois State Athletic Department. “It didn’t matter who was going to be the head coach. My decision had already been made.” According to the statement from Illinois State, Moore sent an email to Athletic Director Gary Friedman on May 3 asking for his release. Because of the hiring and announcement of Muller as the new head coach, the release process wasn’t started until Wednesday. The Redbirds finished this past season with a 21-14 record overall and a 9-9 mark in the Missouri Valley Conference. Illinois State lost to Creighton in overtime of the conference championship game. The Redbirds went on to beat Ole Miss 96-93 in overtime in the first round of the NIT, before losing 92-88 in overtime to Standord in the second round. Moore, a member of the All-Valley Freshman Team, played in all 35 games for the Redbirds, starting 29 of them. For the season, Moore averaged 10 points and four assists per game. The 5-foot-9 floor general grabbed a lot of attention, however, during Illinois State’s postseason run. In the Redbirds’ final three games, Moore averaged 23 points and six assists per contest. In the win over Ole Miss, he scored 24 points and dished out 10 assists. “As a proud alumus and new head coach here at Illinois State, I appreciate all Nic did for this program on and off the court,” Muller said in the press release. “I have really enjoyed getting to know Nic over the past couple days and wish him nothing but the best of luck.” In four years at Warsaw Community High School, Moore scored 1,891 points, finishing second on the program’s all-time scoring list. Moore led the Tigers to a 23-3 record and Class 4A state runner-up finish in 2010. Following his senior season, he finished second in voting for the Indianapolis Star Indiana Mr. Basketball award.
