When Vernon Moore can attend a George Mason basketball game or watch on television or computer, Marquise Moore knows there invariably will be a post-game phone call.
The father will dissect the son's performance. Vernon has the credentials to do so. He is ninth on the career scoring list at Creighton with 1,654 points – recruited to the school by ex-Knick great and Hall of Famer Willis Reed -- and was an All-American honorable mention in 1984-85 when he averaged 21.0 ppg and was a draft choice of the Washington Bullets.
Marquise looks forward to the calls from his dad, like his son, a 6-2 guard who wore number 22 and could get to the rim. “It's pretty detailed,” he says of his father's comments. “Good game or not, he tells me what I could have done better, what I did well, what I need to work on. It's always good to hear from him. Sometimes it's annoying.”
These days Marquise is hearing praise from both his dad and Mason coach Dave Paulsen. Over the past eight games heading into Sunday's contest at St. Louis, the junior criminology major from Queens is averaging 14.5 ppg, 7.0 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game. In addition he usually guards the opponent's top perimeter player.
“We put pressure on him not to be a good defender but an elite defender,” Paulsen says. “I think he's somewhere in between good and elite. He's not elite yet but he can be. It's exhausting.
“He needs to defend at an exceptionally high level every single possession and then play offense at that kind of level. That's a lot on his plate. We're asking a lot from that kid.”
If Paulsen doesn't see the effort he demands in games and practices, he's not reticent about expressing his displeasure. He was visibly upset with Moore during a timeout early in the Wagner game for not getting back on defense and sat him on the bench temporarily before Moore later contributed significantly in the December win.
“I remember that game,” Moore says. “I came out sluggish, flat. I had a big second half that helped us.
Early in the season, Paulsen challenged Moore's intensity and focus at practices. “He's made progress as a better practice player,” the coach says. “He's still not as good as l'd like him to be. Early in the year when I started watching him closely, I realized he'd relax and take possessions off in practice. Because he's physically better than a lot of the other guys, he could get away with it. It still rears its ugly head from time to time but not as much. We want him to have that bulldog mentality in practice.”
The 6-foot-2, 202-pounder can be a force going to the basket. It's an ability his dad had and a trademark of NYC guards.
“When I watch him play he plays similar to the way I played,” says Vernon, a Special Education teacher in Queens, who tore an Achilles tendon while in camp in 1985 with the Bullets and later played in South America and the Caribbean. “I was a strong guard who was able to get to the basket most any time I wanted to. I had a mid-range game, a pretty decent jump shot.”
Vernon shot an otherworldly 67.4% from the floor as a senior, just missing an NCAA record for shooting percentage by a guard. “I was over 70% most of the year; I tailed off at the end,” he said. “There wasn't a three-point shot back then. If I had that luxury, I figure I probably would have upped my point totals a little bit.”
Marquise isn't a three-point shooter; he's made seven for his career. But his jumper from 17 feet is passable and improving, all of which is fine by Paulsen.
“I think I can get to the rim on my athletic ability even when teams know I want to get to the rim,” Moore says. “It's difficult to stop me when I get a head of steam. I'm pretty heavy and pretty quick. That makes it difficult.”
He's at his best when he penetrates and then finishes at the rim or dishes to a teammate. “I like to make plays, set up guys,” Moore says. “Drive the lane, give Shevon (Thompson) a dunk. Drive the lane, give one of my teammates a three. That's what gets me going.”
Thanks to Moore's abilities and those of freshman guard Otis Livingston II – both can play either point or shooting guard –Paulsen has tweaked the offense. The Patriots are playing more in a 4 out/1 in alignment than 3 out/2 in.
“His strong suit is getting to the rim, creating for himself and others so we've given him a little more space which has allowed him to penetrate more and score more,” Paulsen says.
Moore has upped his game this season. The next evolutionary step, according to Paulsen, is to become a more vocal leader.
“My philosophy is to expect the most from your best players not the least,” Paulsen says. “Don't give them a pass. You should hold them to progressively higher standards. I think Marquise is starting to understand it's not personal. It's actually helping him become a better player.
“I think he's just starting to scratch the surface of what he can do.”
