By JOHN PAVIA
Special to ZAGSBLOG
UNION, N.J. — Cincinnati commit Quadri Moore is trying to win a New Jersey Tournament of Champions title while also keeping en eye on his future college club.
The 6-foot-8 Moore — who could be New Jersey’s most complete player this season — is committed to play for head coach Mick Cronin and his No. 7-ranked Bearcats next season and spent a little time discussing their season.
Cincinnati currently has a record of 24-3 with an impressive American Athletic Conference record of 13-1. They have three important wins over Louisville (away), Memphis (away) and Connecticut (home) and ironically, their next three games are against those three teams and will likely determine who gets the number one seed in the conference tournament.
Cincinnati has a huge home game Saturday against No. 11 Louisville (22-4, 11-2). The Bearcats currently lead the Cardinals by a game and a half for first place.
“I’ve been following them a bit,” Moore said. “I’ve seen a couple of their games on TV. They’ve had a couple good, quality wins and they’ve been doing a good job this season with being ranked in the Top 10 in the country. I speak to coach Cronin quite often.”
Moore also discussed how he thinks he can contribute to their team next season.
“I think I’ll just have to do whatever the coach tells me to do and do my job,” he said. “Just listen to coach [Cronin] and I’ll fit in perfectly.”
He mentioned that his rebounding ability and instincts have improved this year and thinks that aspect of his game will translate immediately to the Bearcats.
“I don’t think they’ll need my scoring so much, but I think I can add that too if they need it,” he said. “Also, trying to be a leader, even as a freshman, on the court.”
Moore has led Linden to an 18-3 record on the season and they’re currently ranked fourth in The Star-Ledger’s Top 20. Their next game will be Saturday in the Union County Tournament. Linden earned the No. 1 seed in the tournament and has a bye until the quarterfinals.
“If we play like we’re supposed to play, I think we can win the whole county,” he said.
When pressed about a potential Tournament of Champions run, Moore played down the idea, but didn’t rule it out.
“That’s far ahead of us,” he said, “but I think we can get there.”
Photo: (Saed Hindash/The Star-Ledger)
