Michael Moore Raves About Pitt Staff, Upgraded Facilities After Visit

To start off a long day of visits for Pitt, the staff hosted Michael Moore on an unofficial trip Monday afternoon. 

Moore is a 6-foot-9, 215-pound power forward out of SPIRE Academy in Ohio. He lives in Hermitage, Pennsylvania, just over 70 miles from Pitt, and is originally from Nigeria, where he lived until eighth grade. 

“I feel like the facility was really impressive,” Moore told Pittsburgh Sports Now. “Last time I was there, it wasn’t like that. It was a big upgrade. It was top class. Coach said that when he got there, he wasn’t impressed with what he saw so he had to upgrade everything, which he did. He is a man of his word which is a good thing.”

Moore has been receiving interest from Pitt for a while now, and on Monday he got the chance to strengthen his relationship with the staff in person.

“It is a good staff,” he added. “Coach Capel’s brother was the one who took me around the facility. They are going to come to the DMV soon because I have a live period. They’re going to come and watch me play more in person because they enjoy how I play and they watched my film. They were comparing me to Champagnie.”

The talented 2022 prospect, who had seen Pitt once before in eighth grade, took this trip up to Pitt with his guardian, who has lived with Michael since his arrival in the U.S. years ago.

“It was great. I think Coach Capel, his brother, Coach Brown and Coach O’Toole, they were great,” Moore’s guardian added. “Good staff. It was good talking to them and getting some history on their backgrounds. Some of them actually coached Coach Capel, so they’re all intertwined and connected. It’s not just a staff of new guys working together. They’ve got a long relationship and I know that is something important to me and Michael. The family part of it. When he goes away, I just want him to know he is safe somewhere where guys care about him. Those guys have known each other for a long time, so that was something that was intriguing to us.”

Michael Moore with Assistant Coach Jason Capel, Via Moore’s Guardian

Moore also added that he went to the Cathedral of Learning and checked out the Nationality Rooms on the visit. For the majority of the trip, he was led around by Assistant Coach Jason Capel, but also got to meet the rest of the staff, including the man in charge.

“I feel like he’s the kind of person that wants to make you a better person on and off the court,” Moore said about Jeff Capel. “He wants you to know how things are going. He is just like a perfect coach in my sense. That is the kind of coach players are looking forward to working with. Coaches like him.”

In addition to Pitt, Moore is also being recruited by VCU, Georgetown, Maryland, Indiana, Texas Tech, Virginia Tech, Penn State, and many more high-major schools looking to land a commitment from the highly-skilled forward.

Moore also plans to visit Penn State unofficially on Thursday as well as Seton Hall towards the end of June for an official visit. While he does not yet hold an offer from Pitt, keep an eye on his recruitment, as the staff’s interest has been increasing consistently as of late.