Kansas basketball newcomer Shakeel Moore could be team’s ‘best on-the-ball defender’

LAWRENCE — Shakeel Moore was, understandably, disappointed.

Moore, a graduate guard for Kansas basketball, had suffered an injury before the start of Kansas basketball’s boot camp earlier this year. Moore, who described it as a hairline fracture in his ankle, wouldn’t be able to participate in it with his teammates. For the days he was able to be there, he supported his teammates from the sideline as best he could.

But Moore, continuing his recovery, said Monday when asked when he’d return to action that he’d at least be half-speed next week. He added he expects to be fully cleared on Halloween night, although he allowed that news could come earlier. He volunteered he’s dealt with this injury before, had people around him guiding him, and was always confident he’d be ready for the season because of how much time remained for him to get healthy.

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“I think Shakeel could be our best on-the-ball defender,” Kansas head coach Bill Self said. “He’s not a scorer, but he can make a shot. But I think he’s our best on-the-ball defender, potentially. He knows how to play, smart. It’s his fifth year, he’s been in the ACC, been in the SEC. So, I think that it hurt him, personally, that he’s been out. It’s probably helped some others to allow them more opportunities early. But I can’t see a reason health-wise that he can’t be close to full speed by the first week of November, something like that.”

Moore transferred to Kansas during the offseason after a stint at Mississippi State, where he played after prior competing for NC State. Although he allowed he said he didn’t respond much when now-Jayhawks assistant coach Joe Dooley initially contacted him while he was in the transfer portal, he didn’t blow it off because of the relationship those two have. Dooley was one of the first coaches to recruit him out of high school, and when Moore heard the plan Dooley and Self had for him he thought this would be a good landing spot for him.

Moore, a former 247Sports Composite four-star prospect out of high school, started 22 of the 33 games he played for Mississippi State last season. He averaged 7.9 points, 2.2 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game. He shot 46.8% from the field, 36.3% from behind the arc and 70.2% from the free-throw line.

Moore is one of several newcomers to join Kansas ahead of the 2024-25 season, and the battle for playing time wouldn’t have been easy even if he had been able to remain healthy. At the moment, he seems poised to be a key piece for the Jayhawks off of the bench. But time will tell how it all unfolds, and while he hasn’t experienced what Allen Fieldhouse is all about yet in a game he does have some favorite moments so far — Kansas’ culture meetings that uplift him and his teammates.

“They’re big,” Moore said. “… We just didn’t have that at my other schools, and that’s important for teams to build that chemistry and bond when it comes down to March.”

Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.

This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: Kansas basketball newcomer Shakeel Moore’s injury recovery update