The NC State men’s basketball program and head coach Kevin Keatts are bringing in arguably one of the most talented recruiting classes this program has ever seen for the 2020-21 season. Behind the likes of four-star recruits Josh Hall and Cam Hayes, and hard-working three-star recruits Shakeel Moore, Nick Farrar and Ebenezer Dowuona, this tandem of youth has the ability to help the Pack feast when it comes to the future dominance of the program.

The 6-foot-1, 185-pound Moore, a defensive mastermind of a point guard, is one of these players. Moore had offers from schools such as DePaul and Providence, DePaul being a school that just got a guard into the NBA in Max Strus, but he chose NC State to help fill the void that would be left by senior point guard Markell Johnson.

“It was mainly coach [Takayo] Siddle; he was the one always contacting me,” Moore said of his recruiting process with NC State. “[Siddle] would be the one to show up at the games, both of [Siddle and Keatts] really, but it’s been well with them, they recruited pretty hard, honestly the hardest out of all of my schools. They love me, they love me as a kid and a player.”

There is a lot to like when it comes to Moore as a prospect. The point guard excels at finding his teammates on the court, and watching his film at Moravian Prep shows this, and furthermore, he has an enhanced sense of finding Hall on the floor. One of the more flashy plays for the duo came in a 79-63 victory over The Burlington School, where Moore looked to rise up for a heavily contested lay-up, yet somehow managed to spot Hall rushing to the corner where he found the forward for an exciting 3-pointer despite Moore being smothered by defenders on the pass.

Moore’s shot is also as smooth as silk, though he does not rely on this as one of the main facets of his game. It is easy to tell that Moore has worked on his form throughout the years, and Moravian Prep head coach Antonio Lowe supported this.

“Shakeel has improved a lot with running the show,” Lowe said. “And then, of course, his jump shot and shooting ability, he has always had that athleticism, but for now his shooting ability [has improved].”

The main draw of Moore that he has shown off time and time again, especially in Moravian Prep’s big victory over The Burlington School, is his ability to track the ball as a hard-nosed defender. In the aforementioned game, Moore picked up five steals, some of which included some impressive interceptions at half court where Moore expressed his dynamic leaping ability.

“I think it’s my football days,” Moore said. “That’s what carried my aggressiveness over to the court, I’ve always been that guy who is strong and ready to do the dirty work. I was a running back and also a defensive back. That’s why I love to anticipate the ball on defense, when they bring the ball up the court I know where they are going to pass it to, so I’m always an extra step ahead.”

This fact is one of the first things that coach Lowe mentions when he talks about Moore and is something that scouts are absolutely enamored with.

“Shakeel has really big, strong hands,” Lowe said. “He can walk and just pick the ball up and palm it. Once he gets his hands on balls, he usually comes up with them; he’s taking them out of the air. Him at the top of the press and on-ball defensively, he causes problems, he’s a wrecking ball up there. He has some defensive back skills to the way he moves laterally, and he is just strong.”

Moore oozes confidence as a player and expresses a certain maturity that coach Keatts loves to get out of his players, and with losing Johnson and Bryce after the season, Keatts will need new leaders to step up.

“I definitely can,” Moore said when asked if he felt he could help fill the void left by Johnson next season. “I feel like I can come in and do everything it takes to be in the ACC.”

The point guard also has shown that he can bring a dynamic athleticism to the Pack, being able to jump off the page with electric dunks. Moore’s size is deceiving because he has a higher standing reach than many players that are taller than himself. When he and Hall both get to the rack, it is difficult to tell that there exists an eight-inch height difference between the two players.

With such a talented prospect coming on board, the fact that Moore is great friends with another in Hall and has established such strong chemistry with him is excellent for the team and how it is shaped for next season. There is mutual respect between the two players, and this may ultimately be what helps Moore earn playing time next season, despite potentially being behind Hayes, juniors Braxton Beverly and Thomas Allen, and freshman Chase Graham on the depth chart.

“[Being able to play at NC State with Hall]’s very important,” Moore said. “Because I get to see [Hall] every day. I live with him. I eat lunch with him, breakfast, dinner. We practice every day together. So the chemistry we are building is going to help us take it to the next level.”

The fact that Moore is capable of filling in a lot of the holes that will be left by Johnson is promising, and that is not including the fact that the Pack will be adding Hayes and Allen to the position next season. The future of NC State point guards will be in good hands after this season.

“Keatts lets his point guards play to the best of their abilities,” Moore said. “They get their teammates involved and do their own thing. I’m just that extra dog on the court.”