Shakeel Moore Signs

STARKVILLE – Shakeel Moore has officially inked his Athletic Scholarship Agreement (ASA) with the Mississippi State men's basketball program announced Friday by head coach Ben Howland during the spring signing period.

Moore, a 6-1 guard from Greensboro, North Carolina, posted 6.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, 1.7 assists and a team-leading 1.4 steals per game over his 25 appearances during his freshman season at North Carolina State. He recorded multiple steals on 11 occasions, and the 1.4 steals were ninth on the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) leaderboard.

Moore amassed 75.3 percent of his points, 76.2 percent of his rebounds, 72.1 percent of his assists and 68.6 percent of his steals against ACC opponents. He collected double figures on five occasions, all against ACC foes.

Moore racked up 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting during a win over No. 17 North Carolina (12/22) en route to ACC Freshman of the Week accolades (12/28). He fired in a season's best 19 points on 8-of-12 from the floor and grabbed six rebounds at Boston College (02/06), followed by a 13-point effort versus Duke (02/13) and a 12-point performance at No. 15 Virginia (02/24).

Moore, a four-star recruit and national top 150 recruit by Rivals, played high school basketball for Piedmont Classical and Moravian Prep in North Carolina. He was a part of three straight Carolina Athletic Association for Schools of Choice (CAASC) State championship teams from 2016-17 to 2018-19. Moore averaged 15.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 2.7 steals per game during his junior season.

COACH HOWLAND ON MOORE
"We're extremely excited and pleased about Shakeel's commitment to join our program at Mississippi State. He's an outstanding player and an outstanding young man. Shakeel is an explosive athlete, an excellent shooter and a solid defender who takes pride in his defense. We look for him to make big contributions to our team from day one."

The Mississippi State Athletic Ticket Office is on-sale with 2021-22 season tickets. New season ticket purchasers can call (662) 325-2600 or visit www.HailState.com for more information. Current season ticket holders will receive a renewal notice in late June from MSU's Athletic Ticket Office.

Mississippi State has landed a quartet of impact transfers in Garrison Brooks (North Carolina), D.J. Jeffries (Memphis), Rocket Watts (Michigan State) and Moore (North Carolina State), coupled with a solid freshmen class which features ESPN top 100 recruit KeShawn Murphy, Alden Applewhite and Cam Carter.

The Bulldogs also return two of their top three scorers in Iverson Molinar and Tolu Smith from 2020-21. Molinar ranked among the SEC's top 10 in points per game (16.7 – 4th), field goal percentage (47.8 – 5th) and 20-plus point games (8 – T-7th), while Smith was the SEC leader in rebounds per game (8.5) and double-doubles (8) last season.

Mississippi State captured a runner-up finish at the 2021 NIT as the Bulldogs earned a bid in postseason play for the third consecutive time when postseason tournament have been played. State won seven of its last 10 games, highlighted by a combined five NCAA NET Quad 1 and Quad 2 victories down the stretch.

Visit www.HailState.com for the latest news and information on the men's basketball program. Fans also can follow the program on its social media outlets by searching 'HailStateMBK' on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Players Mentioned

Iverson Molinar

Tolu Smith III

Mississippi State University Athletics