Chloe Burdette
Managing Editor
As North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) schools prepare for the 2019-20 basketball season, their main goals include stacking wins and playing cohesively as a team. But as the Wooster Fighting Scots men’s basketball team prepares for their season, many players have another big goal in mind — to make it the best year yet for their beloved head coach, Steve
Moore. Moore will retire at the conclusion of the 2019-20 basketball season after 33 remarkable years at the College of Wooster.
Many players on the team thank Moore for his inspiring words and leadership as their coach. “Words can not express how grateful I am to have had the opportunity to be coached and mentored by Coach Moore,” Khaylen Mahdi ’22 said. “I am genu- inely excited to have one more season to learn from him and be a student of the game under his teachings.” Keonn Scott ’21 echoed Mahdi’s statement, explaining that “Coach Moore has meant everything to us. We are playing for him.”
Danyon Hempy ’20, one of the seniors finishing his career as a Fighting Scot this year alongside Moore, appreci- ates Moore for his mentorship on and off the court. “Coach Moore has been one of my biggest influences throughout my entire life,” Hempy said. “He has taught me so many things about life and basketball skills and for that I will be forever grateful. He continues to in- spire me every day. I think I speak for everyone when I say that Coach Moore will be dearly missed. One of the best to ever do it!”
Coach Moore himself cherishes his time at Wooster to get to know his basketball players, and the sense of to- getherness that each team provided throughout the years. “Of course our successes on the court will be cherished. But I think the best memories will be of the quality of the men that I have had the opportunity to coach, how they treated people, how they represented our College and team in the community, how they have made our program a source of pride for the College by their play on the court and by being men of character,” Moore explained “more than anything else, I appreciate how they handled themselves, and supported one another and the families of our loved ones when tragedy struck our program numerous times.”
With the loss of four seniors last year, three of which were starters, the Fighting Scots knew that many players were going to have to step into their new roles with a vengeance and play harder than they have ever played before. “I think we still bring back a lot of talented players that can fill the role of those we lost. Dontae Williams ’22 is still back and will play a huge role in dominating the paint, Scott is going to come in huge after losing Reece Dupler ’19, Trenton Tipton ’20 is going to replace Eric Bulic ’19 nicely as well. We have an extreme amount of talent at every position,” Hempy said.
“Once we are able to under- stand our roles as individuals and find a rhythm on the court together as a team, the rest is history,” Mahdi added. One of the ways that the Fighting Scots can honor their coach is through playing harder than ever, and by following a golden rule: never be satisfied. “We never want to be satisfied with where we are at as a team. We are constantly driven by being able to get better. I think we have — we are never complacent and want to be the best we can be,” Hempy explained. Along with the teams’ drive, Mahdi called on help from the fan base in order to give their team an extra boost. “We need to bring more energy and this year we have the guys who will bring just that. Energy also relies on our fan base! This being Coach Moore’s last season, I am going to need the Wooster stu- dents and the fan population to be as passionate and intense as possible every single game.” If one thing is for sure, everyone in a Wooster uniform on the court, including Moore, will make sure that this season is a memorable one. “I am determined to work harder than ever, and to be passionate and enthusiastic in order to help our team be in the best position possible to play well,” Moore said. “I want our team to work hard and improve every single day and I want our team to be playing our best basketball to- ward the end of the regular season and in tournament play.”