Jovan Mooring – 2018-19 G-League Player Profile

June 20th, 2019

Jovan Mooring

PG/SG – 6’2, 205lbs – Born 14th December 1994

   Fort Wayne Mad Ants   

On a UNLV team built with finishers yet few shooters – Brandon McCoy, Tervell Beck, Will’s brother Kris Clyburn, the always-fun Shakur Juiston – Mooring was charged with the task in his two seasons as a Runnin’ Rebel to create offence and stretch the floor. Picked up by the Mad Ants in the middle of February, having begun the season drafted 13th overall in the G-League Draft by the Grand Rapids Drive and spending the first three months with them, Mooring had a similar role here. He contributed, up to a point, and certainly plays with effort. It is not however a role he is naturally adept at filling, particularly the floor-spacing part.

Mooring would prefer to run the court. He is in his best rhythm there, better at attacking an unset defence rather than trying to sneak through or shoot over an established half court unit. A small scorer by trade, Mooring’s game resides somewhere between the two guard spots; he is not big enough to just raise up from outside, nor a good enough shooter to do so, nor an isolation player from a standing start, instead being much more effective when catching the ball from outside. The Runnin’ Rebels as constructed rather relied on him to be the pick-and-roll ball-handler quite a bit anyway, and Mooring had some good moments, splitting doubles, using his decent speed, driving to dump to McCoy and Juiston around the basket and shooting a runner. That said, his offensive flow was never the best; Mooring could hit tough shots, but also took too many of them, would sometimes barrel into the lane without much of an idea of what to do when he got there, and yet was also too passive at other times.

Defensively, without the size of a stopper, Mooring nevertheless makes good reads on that end, or at least did in college. He pressed the issue offensively with the Mad Ants to the detriment of his defence, and to be sure, the off-guard position at the professional level is full of bigger players. Mooring can nonetheless be a change of pace reserve combo guard at this level, who brings some dynamicism and scoring into the game. It would very much help to cement his place if he could hit more jump shots. And if he sought to isolate a bit less.

– 20th June, 2019

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