Winthrop’s Keon Moore to participate in Portsmouth Invitational tournament
ROCK HILL, SC—Winthrop senior guard Keon Moore is among 64 NCAA Division I college basketball players to participate in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament in Portsmouth, VA which gets underway today and runs through Apr. 11.
Moore, who led the Eagles in scoring at 18.5 points per game this past season, will play for the Portsmouth Sports Club, which opens play tonight against Cherry Bekaert at 7 p.m. Moore was a last minute addition after Dayton’s Jordan Sibert pulled out of the event. If PSC wins it will play again on Friday, Apr. 10 at 7 p.m. but if it loses it will be back in action Thursday, Apr. 9 at 3:15 p.m. Fans can visit www.portsmouthinvitational.com for more information such as a full schedule and team rosters.
“The selection means a lot for me,” said Moore on Wednesday afternoon. “To play mid-major basketball and be recognized to participate in such a prestigious event like Portsmouth, even as an alternate, is amazing. Fortunately things worked out so that I could be here in Portsmouth representing Winthrop and the Big South.”
The All-Big South First Team selection finished 5th in the Big South Conference in scoring and ranked nationally in three-point field goals per game (11th) as well as three-point field goal percentage (13th). Moore will play alongside fellow Big South member Saah Nimley (Charleston Southern), Corey Walden (Eastern Kentucky), T.J. Price (Western Kentucky), Royce O’Neale (Baylor), Jarvis Williams (Murray State), Ousmane Drame (Quinnipiac) and Youssou Ndoye (St. Bonaventure).
The P.I.T., which has been around over 60 years, invites 64 of the best college basketball seniors across the nation to participate in a four-day, twelve game tournament in front of representatives from every NBA team. The tournament drew the attention of NBA Scouts and General Managers in the 1970’s when players like Rick Barry, Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, Dave Cowens, John Lucas and Bobby Cremins came to Portsmouth to play. The P.I.T. has always claimed to be “more than a basketball tournament”. Each year the P.I.T. contributes back to the community by awarding five $4,000 scholarships to student athletes from Chesapeake, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Suffolk and Virginia Beach. In addition to the scholarships, approximately $11,500 from the tournament proceeds is presented to local non-profit organizations and charities to help them make a difference in the local community, creating a grand total of over $31,500 given back the community each year.
Moore ended his Eagle career as the only player in the program’s history to score 1,000 points in their first two seasons and as one of the all-time best three-point scorers. He set the school’s Division I record for points and scoring average as well as the school’s Big South games only scoring average.
This will mark the third player in the program’s history to attend the P.I.T. as Craig Bradshaw and Torrell Martin each participated in 2007.