Kendle Moore chooses to return, Jalen Scott enters the transfer portal, and a look at what's next for CSU hoops

DENVER — One ‘Moore’ time. 

Senior guard Kendle Moore announced on Friday that he will in fact use his extra year of eligibility and return to Colorado State for a fifth season with the Rams. 

The 6-foot-0, 155-pound speedster out of Danville, Ill. has played in 120 games over his career and 119 of them were starts — he will return as one of the most experienced players in the entire country. With 13 more games played, Moore can surpass Nico Carvacho (132) for the most by any Ram ever. 

https://twitter.com/KendleMoore03/status/1507402749788360709

This past season Moore (1,036), along with David Roddy (1,406) and Isaiah Stevens (1,309), each surpassed 1,000 career points at CSU, respectively. Moore has also made the fourth-most threes in program history (172), trailing only Dorian Greene (197), John Sivesand (211) and Andy Birley (234). 

With a career free throw percentage of .802, Moore ranks 18th amongst all CSU players. His 250 assists are top-20 as well (No. 18). Finally, Moore is second all-time in steals (153) but will likely pass Piece Hornung (156) within the first couple of games in 2022-23. 

With Jalen Lake and Isaiah Rivera each carving out roles, and a phenomenally productive season from Roddy, Moore’s scoring average dipped by 4 points per game from his junior to senior seasons. That said, his impact on the floor was still palpable. In Moore’s two highest-scoring outings last season, CSU picked up crucial road victories over Utah State and Nevada down the stretch. He played a big role in the home win over Boise State and the non-conference win over Mississippi State back in December as well. 

Moore’s decision to return is great for a CSU team that will be expected to contend for a Mountain West Championship and return to the NCAA Tournament. He is one of the best on-ball defenders on the roster. And his ability to get to the hoop in transition or knock down an open 3-pointer is huge.

Jalen Scott enters the transfer portal

While Moore coming back for a fifth season with the Rams is great news for Niko Medved, unfortunately it does also come at a cost, as redshirt freshman guard Jalen Scott has elected to enter the transfer portal. 

Colorado State G Jalen Scott has entered the transfer portal. https://t.co/bEGENJNven

— Verbal Commits (@VerbalCommits) March 25, 2022

A highly touted recruit out of high school, 247Sports ranked Scott as the No. 11 prospect in the state of Arizona and the No. 38 point guard in the country. 

After redshirting this past season, Scott seemingly would have had some type of role for the Rams next year, so his departure is a bit of a bummer for Ram Nation. With Moore returning for an extra season, though, and five other guards on the roster, it’s not very surprising that Scott is electing to look for a new home. 

As it currently stands, the Rams have had three individuals enter the transfer portal in the last week. Dischon Thomas and Adam Thistlewood were both reported on Thursday and Lake joined them one day later. 

What’s next? 

I don’t expect much more roster movement this spring but losing another transfer or two is definitely within the realm of possibility. If that happens then there is no reason for the die-hards to hit the panic button. It’s just the way things work in the modern era of college basketball. When you have 13 scholarships and can only really play eight or nine people consistently, there are always going to be guys that yearn for more playing time or a bigger role. 

Now that the Rams have at least three open scholarships to work with, though, it does open some intriguing possibilities for the staff on the recruiting trail. So, let’s dive into that a little bit. 

The biggest priorities for CSU this off-season, in order, should be: 1. A big of some sort, 2. A wing, 3. A guard. 

Having said that, the fans need to understand that landing an elite center is much easier said than done. And because of that everyone needs to prepare for the possibility of bringing in another stretch-four-type like Dischon Thomas. 

Wings like Bryce Hamilton don’t grow on trees either, so while it should be a focus for the staff, it’s going to be hard to find a two-way guy that is willing to be the third or fourth scoring priority in the rotation. Not to mention that the Rams did sign Jack Payne out of Idaho this past cycle, and he may ultimately develop into a wing-type role. 

Perhaps more important than anything else is just finding guys that are going to be accepting of doing the dirty work. The Rams could definitely use another rim protector — another 3-point shooter too — but so long as they can add a couple of guys that can defend adequately, attack the glass and do what’s asked of them, this roster should still be in great shape to contend. 

Medved, Ali Farokhmanesh and Co. have always done a great job of finding high-character players in the past, I’m excited to see who they can bring into the fold this time. CSU should be a popular transfer destination after finishing in the top-25. The Rams are going to have options this off-season.