TROY — Darien Moore is an equal-opportunity offender to opposing defensive units as the Catholic Central boys’ basketball star is adept at going to the rim with authority, punishing with mid-range jumpers or knocking down 3-pointers. Moore is just as menacing as a defender, helping to make his team a sectional champion for the first time in 42 years.
“I take a lot of pride in being well-rounded, especially with the mid-range game. Hitting those mid-range jumpers makes my game easier,” Moore said. “I can drive it, but if the pull-up is there, I can take it or pass it to one of my teammates (at the three-point line).”
But perhaps even more impressively, Moore has become the unquestioned leader of a squad as a freshman who plays as if he was about to graduate high school.
“His maturity on the basketball floor is something people can see,” CCHS coach Guy DiBacco said. “For those that don’t know, he is the same way off the floor. Little kids come up to him after a game and he talks to them. We talk about, whether it is fair or not in a K-through-12 school, being a role model in the hallways. I think he has taken that to heart.”
Moore’s all-around excellence, leadership and the way he goes about his business on a daily basis matches his nickname well as he is known as ‘Payday.’ The freshman continues to show how much of an asset he is for the Crusaders (24-1), the state’s No. 2 ranked squad. Up next for CCHS is a Class B state semifinal date Saturday against No. 3 ranked Southampton (21-5), the champions from Section XI.
The Crusaders, with Moore serving as the team’s leading scorer as an eighth grader last March, advanced to the sectional final and dropped a 51-50 decision to eventual state champion Ichabod Crane.
“It definitely pushed me,” Moore said of the defeat. “I have checked off one of my goals winning the (sectional) chip and us getting…
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