In Episode 47 of the Hoopsfix Podcast we sit down with British basketball legend Joel Moore, one of the greatest guards to ever come out of the UK.
A two times Commonwealth Gold medallist, Moore had a professional career that spanned from 1982 where he began with Crystal Palace as a junior – and suited up for the England men at 17 years old – and ended in 1995, having played predominantly in the National League and BBL for the likes of the aforementioned Crystal Palace, Portsmouth, Kingston, Glasgow, Hemel, and London Towers, along with one season in Germany’s Bundesliga with Stuttgart in 1992-93.
He finished with 71 caps for his country, 43 for England and 28 for GB, and is regularly brought up in conversations when people talk about the top British guards of all time.
In this 1 hour and 40 minute conversation, hear from Joel on:
Being an under-appreciated and under-recognised legend of the domestic game
How he first started playing basketball at around 6 years old
His training regime as a youngster and playing outdoors a lot
Joining the legendary Crystal Palace programme
Getting to play against Alton Byrd and his memories of practice
Constantly failing to making the England Junior National teams
Being cut from the Under-19 England team only to be picked up by the Seniors and go to his first Commonwealth games
Winning two gold medals at the Commonwealth Games
Averaging 50 a game for his school, including a 92 point game in which he fouled out of
Battles with Sam Stiller, being the top two guards from London at that time
How playing against Seniors aided his development as a junior
Being a two-way player, being a standout defensively and offensively
His competitive mindset and love for the game
Going to the States on scholarship before leaving early to return to England
His biggest regret from his playing days
Playing against Drazen Petrovic
The money he could earn playing in the BBL and why it was a more attractive option than Europe
His £15,000 cash sponsorship deal with Adidas
Averaging 24 a game in the BBL, and why he could have averaged more if scoring was all he wanted to do
England being finishing sixth in Europe in the late ’80s after the pre-Olympic qualifying tournament
Teaming up with Steve Bucknall in Germany to become what were thought to be the first English teammates playing overseas together; playing as imports, taking American spots
Whether or not he could have played in the NBA
Some other legends of the British game he would like to see in a Hall of Fame
The important of basketball IQ and why he thinks it is missing from the British game
And much, much more!
As always, I’d love to get your feedback, come back after you’ve listened and lets get some discussion going in the comments.
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