By Mike Lehman, TTU Sports Information
COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The Tennessee Tech men's basketball team recently announced the signing of freshman transfer Zeke Moore, the second member of the Golden Eagles' 2017 signing class.
The 6-foot-7 guard comes to Tech after spending the 2016-17 season as a true freshman at Saint Louis University.
"I chose to come to Tech because I have built a relationship with Coach [Steve] Payne and his staff that has similar qualities to that of my family, which I really respect and honor," Moore explained. "This is the right system for me to become the best ball player, as well as the best man, I can be.
"The basketball program and I share visions and goals to become elite in the near future, and I want to be a big part of that. I expect to build Tech into a title contender in the OVC [Ohio Valley Conference] in the upcoming years and will do my best to make sure that happens."
Moore played in 29 of the Billikens' 33 games last season, averaging 5.3 points, 2.0 rebounds and 20.8 minutes per game. He fired at a 39.1-percent clip from down town and hit 76.7 percent of his free-throw attempts on the year. His season-high marks included 12 points and four 3-pointers made at Richmond and five rebounds on two separate occasions.
"I think Zeke is going to be a guy that brings tremendous leadership and energy to our program," Payne expressed. "You need to have guys, that when they're walking around your building, your campus or your locker room, they have an ability to draw people to them and energize those people. Zeke is one of those guys."
The feeling about leadership is mutual between the coach and Tech's newest Golden Eagle.
"I plan on contributing a lot to the team next season, despite having to sit out the entire year," said Moore. "I'm bringing leadership and experience from a high-level basketball program and conference. I plan on passing down as much of that as I can to the younger guys or even the older guys where I feel it's necessary; but I want to take in knowledge from them as well.
The two sides also tend to agree on the role that Moore will play on the court.
"I'm a point guard, so my emphasis is to not just help myself get better, but the program as well. I'm planning to be an extension of Coach Payne and the staff and I'm going to enforce and implement our DNA – to win, play hard and have fun – to the team."
"At Saint Louis, he was primarily a spot-up shooter," Payne said. "In high school he was a point guard. We see him as a big point guard. He'll probably play a little bit all over the floor, but we see him as a guy who can lead a team and a locker room. We're excited about his future. We hate he has to sit out for a year, but to have that kid for three more years after he sits out is a huge bonus for Tennessee Tech basketball."
While Moore will sit out the 2017-18 season due to NCAA transfer rules, the future Golden Eagles can't wait to get his new career started.
"I'm really looking forward to just being on the campus and starting school," Moore said. "Words can not describe how ready I am to be around the guys and start building chemistry. I'm ready to learn the system, improve and help the team by being a great practice player and leader in the locker room. I want to make practice as realistic to a game as possible. Along the way, I plan on achieving some goals for myself as well, which are to get bigger and stronger because I am light in the butt. I want to become a better defender in certain situations and I want to become a bigger student of the game than I already am. I want to be so prepared and ahead of the game, that if God blesses me, I can play professionally."
Photo by TTU Photo Services
