Despite injuries, Justin Moore is giving ‘as much as I can’ for Villanova as it makes an NCAA push

It bothered Justin Moore at first, and how could it not?

Slowed by a right leg that he spent most of the last two years rehabilitating from an Achilles tendon tear only to later sprain his knee, Moore was faced with a realization. The star Villanova guard was no longer going to be the explosive offensive player he was before his injuries. He holds out hope that he will one day be back to 100%, but for now he has accepted that this is the version of himself he is at the moment.

Moore scored nearly 15 points per game for the Villanova team that reached the Final Four in 2022. He suffered a torn Achilles in the final minutes of the team’s Elite Eight victory and then missed the first 20 games of last season before returning and scoring 13.5 points per contest down the stretch.

In his first nine games this season, Moore averaged 14.4 points. Then came the knee sprain in the first half of an overtime loss at Kansas State. Moore missed five games and more than five weeks with the injury.

He scored two points in his return during a blowout win over DePaul, eight in a loss at Marquette, and then exploded for 15 points during a one-point loss to No. 1 Connecticut at the Wells Fargo Center. But Moore was called for two offensive fouls down the stretch, marring what looked to be the return of the player this Villanova team was built around.

But that’s the last time Moore has topped six points in a single game. In nine games since returning from the knee injury, Moore is scoring 5.8 points per game, nearly nine points fewer than before the injury.

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It doesn’t take a scout’s eye to see it. There’s less burst in Moore’s offensive game. He has been short on jump shots, including a key mid-range jumper late in a three-point loss to Xavier last week — a result that caused some, including this writer, to question whether Moore should be on the court for Villanova late in games.

Since returning, Moore is 5-for-33 on three-point shots and has made more than two shots from the field in a game just twice.

Moore, a graduate student playing in his fifth college basketball season, knows the limitations, too, hence the frustration he felt when he first came back to game action. But a day before Villanova’s 80-54 stomping of Seton Hall, Moore said Saturday that the frustration has waned.

“I’m just in the mindset of trying to win and give as much as I can for the team and just get better as a team,” Moore said. “I’m more focused on the team and winning.”

Thanks probably in large part to a sizable NIL deal, Moore returned to Villanova for a fifth season instead of transferring or trying to find a professional home. Asked about the balance of the program owing a lot to Moore and having the five best guys on the floor, Villanova coach Kyle Neptune pointed to the defensive end and the other things Moore brings.

“He’s one of our best defenders still right now,” Neptune said. “He’s one of our best decision-makers right now. He’s one of our best leaders right now.

“If we say we’re about defending and rebounding, which we do, you want the guys out there who can defend and rebound at the highest level.

“We like having him out there.”

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While Moore is struggling offensively, he is still competing defensively. It showed during Sunday’s win over Seton Hall.

Moore was the primary defender on Seton Hall’s best player, Kadary Richmond, on 13 man-to-man possessions. Richmond made one basket and had one assist on those possessions, and Seton Hall scored just 11 points, good for 0.846 points per possession, slightly lower than the 0.871 points per possession the Pirates managed on the day. The Wildcats, helped in part by Moore, bottled Richmond up all game.

Keep in mind, this is a player once considered to be a fringe NBA prospect, an elite college basketball player that this Villanova team was planning to rely on for so much. Now we’re pointing to fringe defensive metrics as the reason he’s on the floor? It’s a different world for Moore, who said a few weeks ago that he isn’t yet worrying about where he stands in regard to professional hoops.

He acknowledged Saturday that there is “some stuff” he’s still not able to do the way he used to. Getting ready for games right now looks different, too. He gets more treatment and has shorter spurts of full-speed practices.

Moore’s girlfriend, Jakia Brown-Turner, also plays Division I basketball. Brown-Turner, Maryland’s second-leading scorer, suffered a torn meniscus over the summer. There was Moore, “letting her know that she’s going to get over it and be better,” he said. “You may not be where you want to be at that moment, but you’re always going to get back to that point.”

The roles have reversed, and now it’s Brown-Turner reminding Moore of the same things.

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“We watch each other’s games and give each other advice,” Moore said. “It’s just great to have a person right there that can be there for you like that.”

The couple can talk about life on the NCAA Tournament bubble right now, which is where they both stand. For Villanova, Moore said “every game is a sense of urgency.” The Wildcats have a road game at Georgetown and then host Butler — two games they will be favored in — before a road game at top-ranked UConn.

A final trip to the NCAA Tournament for Moore is still in play. His role in it all just looks a little bit different than most imagined.

“I don’t think about it anymore,” Moore said of the injuries and his limitations. “I just know that I’m going to get back to it eventually. It’s all part of the process and your journey.”