Basketball
Kansas basketball earns key commitment from Mississippi State transfer Shakeel Moore
LAWRENCE — The Kansas basketball fan base received some positive news on Wednesday after Shakeel Moore confirmed in a social media post on Instagram he has committed to the Jayhawks.
Moore, who’s transferring in from Mississippi State, made his pledge to join KU after a few years at Mississippi State. Moore, a guard who started his college career at NC State, is a former 247Sports Composite four-star recruit from the 2020 recruiting class. In his commitment, he joins one of the more renowned recruiting classes the sport has this offseason.
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Moore had been a regular starter for Mississippi State over the past few seasons, doing so in 65 of the 98 games he played. He averaged 25.9 minutes per game over the course of that time, as well as 8.8 points, 2.8 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. His shot-making ability improved remarkably this past season, when he finished hitting 47.0% of his shots from the field and 35.9% of his shots from behind the arc.
Moore’s commitment becomes all the more important after Kansas sophomore guard Elmarko Jackson suffered what is expected to be a season-ending injury this week. Jackson, a former five-star recruit who was a McDonald’s All-American, was going to factor into the Jayhawks’ rotation this upcoming season. So, Moore will provide much-needed depth.
Jordan Guskey covers University of Kansas Athletics at The Topeka Capital-Journal. He is the National Sports Media Association’s sportswriter of the year for the state of Kansas for 2022. Contact him at jmguskey@gannett.com or on Twitter at @JordanGuskey.