IU men’s basketball picked up its third verbal commit for the class of 2017 Sunday when Clifton Moore Jr. announced via Twitter he will head to Bloomington next season.
Moore, a three-star recruit out of Horsham, Pennsylvania, according to 247Sports, committed to IU while on his official visit this weekend.
“You just get that feeling with the coaches, and they are very determined,” Moore said. “Coach Crean and the assistants — they definitely know how to be successful and I know that they want it.”
Moore took an official visit to Ole Miss on Sept. 24 and was scheduled to visit Northwestern next weekend before he committed to IU.
Moore’s recruitment took off during summer. IU assistant coach Chuck Martin went to watch four-star forward Malik Williams, an IU target at the time who is now committed to Louisville, play this July, but Moore caught his eye instead.
Moore ended the game against Williams with 20 points and 12 rebounds, and Martin kept Moore as his secret to the rest of the recruiting world.
“Coach Martin didn’t want people to know about me because I was under the radar,” Moore said. “He came to the games, but he sat on a different court just to be slick. He knew that if he drew attention then it would just be harder for them to get me.”
Martin’s plan paid off.
IU Coach Tom Crean visited Moore in his hometown in September and offered him a scholarship right after watching Moore participate in an open gym at his high school.
Moore says his shooting and his versatility are his strengths on the court. He will contribute as a stretch forward for the Hoosiers because he shoots the ball well from beyond the arc and plays more like a 6-foot-5 small forward.
While he doesn’t have the long list of blue chip offers, Moore said he wanted to come to IU because he saw what they have done for other players like him.
“I knew that they produced guys that, even though were underrated and undervalued, came and went to the pros,” Moore said.
Getting prepared for the next level was something he said he wanted in a program, and he said IU does a strong job of getting players ready.
He said the coaching staff says he is like sophomore O.G. Anunoby because, like Moore, Anunoby was also under recruited and proved the recruiting services wrong after his freshman year.
Moore joins 6-foot-7 forward Justin Smith from Illinois and 6-foot-4 guard Aljami Durham from Georgia as the third member of the IU 2017 recruiting class that checks in at No. 15 in the nation by 247sports.
Andrew Hussey and Zain Pyarali contributed reporting
