Villanova’s Justin Moore has ‘no timetable’ for a return but he’s grateful to be on the ‘road to recovery’

Last March, when Villanova guard Justin Moore went down in the South Regional final of the NCAA Tournament with a torn right Achilles tendon, the immediate repercussions were clear: Moore, the team’s second-leading scorer, would miss the Final Four, and Villanova’s chances to win what would’ve been quite a walk-off title (though, no one knew it then) to end the Jay Wright era were virtually wiped away.

The long-term repercussions of the injury were less clear. What did it mean for Moore’s basketball future? How much of the 2022-23 Villanova season would he miss? With Wright gone, could Moore opt to play elsewhere?

» READ MORE: Villanova native Meghan Mitchell has become a field hockey star for her hometown Wildcats

Even Moore didn’t know some of the answers right away. He was in New Orleans, scooter in tow, days removed from not being able to feel his right leg. He watched his teammates get outclassed by Kansas, the eventual champions. It wasn’t until he got back home and sat down with family and friends that he really understood the weight of the injury. There were some “why me?” moments.

Nearly seven months later, they’ve been replaced mostly by a feeling of gratitude, Moore said Wednesday at Villanova’s media day. Grateful to be working out with teammates. Grateful to still be at Villanova. Grateful to be on the road to playing basketball again.

Villanova had just finished practicing Wednesday inside Finneran Pavillion when Moore was speaking, but Moore wasn’t practicing with them. He’s doing individual workouts, he said, and helping get some of the younger players acclimated. A few weeks ago, a Fox Sports report said Moore was targeting the start of Big East play, in late December, for a potential return.

“There’s no timetable and I don’t know when I’m going to be back,” Moore, a senior, said Wednesday. There’s no goal date in mind.

New coach Kyle Neptune reiterated the same.

“He looks great. He’s on the road to recovery,” Neptune said. “I don’t think he’s close yet. He’s dribbling. He’s working out. Right now, it’s really up to the doctors to see where he’s at.

“Eye test, he looks fine to me.”

The Wildcats, Neptune said, have no specific date in mind for Moore’s return.

» READ MORE: Villanova’s full men’s basketball schedule for 2022-23 now complete

Moore’s doctor told him in July that he could ramp up his rehab to “anything I can tolerate.” For Moore, that bar is different than most. Sometimes, Moore looks so good that redshirt junior big man Eric Dixon gets nervous.

“He scares me at times with just how well he looks and how well he’s moving and the things that he does,” Dixon said. “Sometimes I’m like, you know, ‘You might want to slow down.’ But he does whatever it takes.”

Dixon said Moore being sidelined has allowed the guard to become more of a leader. Moore, Dixon said, was previously a pretty quiet personality on the team. Now, he’s “much more vocal and much more confident.”

» READ MORE: Photos from Villanova's Hoops Mania

Villanova also brings in a talented freshman class headlined by 6-foot 7 wing Cam Whitmore, who spent his summer rising up 2023 NBA Draft boards, and point guard Mark Armstrong. The two played together on the United States U18 national team this summer.

“As an older guy, it’s your job to take them under your wing and teach them,” Moore said.

Moore, who averaged nearly 15 points and five rebounds per game last season, is now an “older guy” in the Villanova program, and there are a few of them, no matter how much newness there is around the team. Graduate student Brandon Slater is back to use his final season of eligibility. So is Caleb Daniels. Dixon, an Abington High grad, has been around. So has Chris Arcidiacono.

No one has quite the perspective on Moore that Slater has. The two grew up playing AAU basketball together in the DMV area. They’ve known each other since they were around six years old.

Asked what it’s been like watching his friend and teammate work his way back to playing, Slater said he was “proud” of Moore.

“Watching him just attack this so vigorously, I know he’s going to come back even stronger,” Slater said.

“He’s literally a freak. He’s talented, he’s strong, he can recover really fast. I’m excited for him and I’m happy for him and I’m glad that this recovery process is going the way that everybody would like, and [it’s] exciting for people who didn’t think he’d be back this fast.”

How fast, exactly, remains to be seen.

“I’m feeling really good,” Moore said.