AUBURN, Ala. – Auburn mourns the loss of two-time All-Southeastern Conference men's basketball standout Jeff Moore (1966-2022), who played for the Tigers from 1984-88.
Moore, a 6-foot-7, 240-pound center/forward at the time, was drafted by the Charlotte Hornets in the third round of 1988 NBA Draft.
In his four seasons at Auburn, Moore was a two-time All-SEC player after taking over the starting center job following the departure of Charles Barkley to the NBA. He played in the NCAA Tournament in each of his four seasons and left the school as its second all-time leading rebounder (950) and 10th on the all-time career scoring list (1,549 points).
During his senior campaign in 1987-88, he was an All-America candidate, a premier center in the SEC and rated as the seventh-best center in the country by The Sporting News. The Tigers were ranked No. 9 in the final national polls and reached the NCAA Elite Eight during his sophomore season in 1985-86.
Originally from Birmingham, Alabama, Moore was named Mr. Basketball in the state of Alabama in 1984 and was a member of the Converse All-America Team. A two-time all-state selection, he received Player of the Year honors from both The Associated Press and Birmingham Tip-Off Club. Moore led Midfield High School to 33-2 and 20-8 records in his final two seasons.
After he played professionally overseas for a number of years, Moore, who was a family and child development major in college, graduated from Auburn University at the age of 47, with the help and encouragement of his coaches – former head coach Sonny Smith and assistant coach Lawrence Johnson.
"Jeff Moore was a big-time scorer," Smith said. "He could hit the outside shot and play with his back to the basket. He always had to guard people bigger than him. He developed an inside-outside game for us. He made it awfully hard to guard. He improved every year that he played for us. He was an outstanding player and we went to the Elite Eight with him. The better the team was, the better he played. He had a pro career waiting on him, until he broke his hand against Georgia Tech.
"Jeff was an integral part of the rebuilding of our program. He was a very good high school player at Midfield High School in Birmingham. He was one of the guys we needed and had to recruit. He graduated at the age of 47 and it was a great accomplishment. This has been a tremendous loss for me personally."
Moore is survived by his sister, Valerie. A memorial service will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 6, at 11 a.m. at Friendship Baptist Church located at 4819 Main Street in Brighton, Alabama.