One of the hallmarks of Xavier’s recent rosters has been the presence of a transfer guard who ends up taking a huge role in the offense and takes on the role of option 1A for at least stretches of the season. First there was Souley Boum, who gained All American buzz in his singular year at X, the came Quincy Olivari, who put on a clinic in the Crosstown Shootout and set the all time school mark for made three pointers in a season. Last year, Ryan Conwell and, at brief moments, Dante Maddox Jr. filled that role, playing key roles in getting vital wins against Villanova, Connecticut, and at Providence. This season Malik Messina-Moore looks most suited to take that on as the former Pepperdine and Montana sharpshooter takes a crack at high major basketball.
Messina-Moore started his career as a bench piece logging 24 minutes a game on a Pepperdine squad that finished last in the WCC before moving into the starting lineup for 27 of their 33 games his sophomore season. His hallmark during those two years was his ability to score efficiently, most notably in conference play, even as a lesser part of the offense with usage rates of 11.4 and 15.4 in those seasons. His scoring game developed well, but his struggles with turnovers and inability to get to the line were points of weakness in his game so he headed to Montana where he would be able to be a bigger part of the offense. Messina-Moore was an instant hit with the Grizzlies, leading the team in 3p% and being their second leading scorer at 12.6 ppg as Montana made it back to the NCAA Tournament after missing it the previous 5 seasons. Of particular note was the raise in his assist rate and accompanying drop in turnover rate as well as his rise in free throw rate. He also posted career best 2p% and EFG%, the latter being a staggering 66.3 in Montana’s 5 tier A/B games. He was named 2nd Team All-Big Sky and his arrival in the portal was much more of a splash than the season prior, drawing attention from the likes of Michigan State, UCLA, Maryland, Georgia Tech, San Diego State and Boise State among others and landing as the 19th best shooting guard available according to 247 Sports.
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Moore was present at Big East Media Day and started Xavier’s preseason scrimmage against Murray State, pointing to the fact that he is lining up to be a key player for Richard Pitino this season. His pedigree as a dynamic scorer made him coveted in the portal and he’s among the most likely candidates to be tasked with shouldering the load for Xavier in terms of perimeter scoring as one of the most experienced players on the roster.
