For Charlie Moore, Every Day is Father’s Day
Blue Demon star returned home to help take care of his dad
Claudia Close, Athletics Communications
6/19/2020
“Even though you probably wouldn’t think that I’m repaying him or that I have to come home, it’s just something from the heart that he did and I feel like right now, it’s just something from the heart that I’m doing. It’s love. It’s all love.”Charlie Moore
One of the best ways to describe DePaul Athletics can be succinctly expressed with six letters---family. Whether referring to the athletic director, a graduate assistant or a student worker---it’s all one big family.
In Charlie Moore’s return to Chicago, family was all that mattered.
Not only was he welcomed immediately into the Blue Demon family, he was also back in his hometown with his own family---albeit taking on a different role.
His dad, Curtis, suffered a stroke back in 2015 and Moore is happy to be home lending a helping hand.
“Getting to see my family a whole lot more while doing what I love to do---playing basketball and going to school---has been amazing,” Moore said. “It’s been great being at home and doing what I can for my family.”
The rising senior transfer hasn’t had the most conventional road back home. It started out playing at California his freshman season and setting a freshman school record with 38 points against Cal Irvine, then transferring to Kansas before making the decision to come back and play at DePaul. He received a waiver from the NCAA granting immediate eligibility before the start of the 2019-20 season.
Transferring twice might seem more difficult, but Moore felt right at home the moment he first set foot in the Sullivan Athletics Center.
“The players, coaching staff and athletic department welcomed me with open arms,” he said. “I felt an instant connection with those guys, so I felt like it was just the place for me.”
The Blue Demons had an eye-opening 9-0 start to the non-conference portion season before suffering their first loss against Buffalo. While DePaul encountered some adversity during the BIG EAST season, Moore was nowhere near discouraged as he remained focused on playing his role to the best of his ability.
“I’m not perfect or anything like that, but I go into every game with my hard hat on and I just focus,” Moore said. “I’m determined to win and help my team win a game. I definitely have things to improve on, but I think so far I’ve been doing a pretty okay job.”
Putting on his hard hat is something he got from his father during all the years of workouts and playing ball growing up.
As a coach, his father had him doing drills incessantly, shadowing the work of his two older brothers. He put in all the sweat and sacrifice as his love for the game grew naturally through his family.
After starting all 32 games and averaging 35.5 minutes a game, it’s clear Moore has made use of his passion and talent for the sport. He averaged 15.5 points a game and led the BIG EAST with 6.1 assists per game while shooting 81.1 percent from the free throw line. He was sixth in the league in steals.
The 5-foot, 11-inch point guard was just four assists shy of 200 with his 196 the fourth-best, single-season mark in school history. He enters his senior season having already eclipsed the 1,000-point career threshold with 1,013.
His highlight reel resembled the major hype of his high school career at Morgan Park winning a pair of state championships and being honored as Illinois Mr. Basketball in 2016. The No. 1-rated player in the state averaged 28 points, seven assists, five steals and four rebounds his senior year.
It’s almost as if the moment he arrived back in the land of Lou Malnati's and Chicago-style hot dogs with all the trimmings, Moore began reliving his high school heroics.
There was the 29 points he put up against a vaunted Villanova program that won national titles in 2016 and 2018. The multi-talented playmaker racked up 27 points against Fairleigh Dickinson and 26 against city rival UIC.
Another heated rivalry brought out the best in Moore when the unselfish facilitator hit the Northwestern Wildcats with 25 points and 10 assists---one of his four double-doubles on the season. He put on a show out east with 24 points and eight assists at Boston College.
Demonstrating his excellence all over the court, Moore was in triple-double territory twice with 14 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds at St. John’s and 21 points, eight assists and six boards at Marquette.
Many of DePaul’s games came down to the last few minutes, and Moore realized his team needed to do a little better at finishing strong.
“The BIG EAST is one of the best conferences in America,” he said. “Being in the BIG EAST is hard. Every game is a hard fought down to the wire.
“It comes down to the final possessions. We just needed to get better at ending the game on the right foot and we’ve been working on that.”
Something else that is different for him this season is having his dad at every one of his home games to support him.
“It feels good to have him at every game,” Moore said. “Just knowing that I have that support from my dad who taught me everything I know and love about basketball. It’s amazing.”
The father-son duo has always had a close relationship, but Moore’s return to the Windy City has allowed their relationship to reach another level. Whether it’s just them having a conversation about random things or one of a more serious nature, he knows he has a best friend and the biggest supporter in his father.
“I can talk to him about anything – my troubles, problems on and off the court,” Moore said. “He’s always been there to take care of me, teach me the right things and just being an incredible father figure.”
Moore has been blessed with the opportunity of a lifetime---to play the game he loves at a tradition-laden basketball school while also being around a family that is so important to him.
Curtis Moore fostered his son’s love of the game, but he also helped Charlie realize the importance of family – even if only going home for a night to “help out with the knick-knack things they need help with.”
There is an intangible bond, a deep-seated, emotional connection when a father makes sacrifices so his son can live a better life. It almost becomes second nature putting someone else ahead of yourself.
All through childhood and into the teenage years, that youngster grows up with a feeling of self-esteem, the values passed on from one generation to the next and eventually, a keen sense of appreciation for the wise parent who guided you into manhood.
More than ever, Charlie Moore is genuinely grateful to be at a place in his life where he can devote so much of himself to helping Curtis with whatever he needs---just as dad had done lo these many years.
“Even though you probably wouldn’t think that I’m repaying him or that I have to come home, it’s just something from the heart that he did and I feel like right now, it’s just something from the heart that I’m doing,” Moore said. “It’s love. It’s all love.”
When Sunday rolls around, have a happy Fathers’ Day, Charlie and Curtis Moore.
