By Paul McGaughey
Despite a win over the Fraser Valley Bandits back in July, Edmonton Stingers coach Jermaine Small didn’t like what he saw from his star player Xavier Moon.
Now a back-to-back champion and the only MVP the Canadian Elite Basketball League has ever known, Moon scored just 12 points and did not make a single attempt from beyond the arc.
Two nights later, Moon went 7-for-11 from three-point range and poured in 39 points in another win over the Bandits.
In between those two contests, Small, who is also the Stingers’ general manager, met with Moon and told the starting point guard to never let that happen again.
“The game is obviously more predicated on the three-point shot, especially as a guard,” said Small over the phone from the University of Lethbridge where he is also head coach of the men’s basketball team.
“So I told him - I told my guys in the summer - that we want to win some games and have a great experience, but my job is to get you to a level higher than you came in here. [Moon] got the message quickly and I was just forward thinking of what he needs to do to get to the next level.”
After completing his third season in Edmonton, Moon was on the verge of packing his bags to play in Italy when suddenly the Dallas Mavericks, New Orleans Pelicans, and Los Angeles Clippers showed interest in the 26 year old for a role with their G-League affiliates.
Moon had pretty much decided he was going to sign with the Birmingham Squadron when he received a call from Paul Hewitt, head coach of the Agua Caliente Clippers.
By that point Moon had already been through workouts with each of the clubs and preferred the Pelicans G-League team in Birmingham which is a short drive from his home in Goodwater, Alabama.
“It's been a while since I've [played] close to home, so I was pretty much sold on signing with [Birmingham] and then I talked to my coach from the Clippers,” said Moon about the process of choosing where to begin the next chapter in his career.
“He pretty much sold me [on signing with the Clippers] in the conversation that we had. So I took probably a couple of hours after the workout [with the Pelicans] and after the conversation with [coach Hewitt] and then I told my agent 'this is where I want to be' and she's like ‘we'll make it happen.’ So that's what happened.”
Of the three teams that were vying for Moon, the Clippers will seemingly provide the best opportunity to play major minutes for an organization that is thin on floor generals.
“They have a lot of guys that are more so wings and forwards,” says Moon. “I also looked at it as the Clippers [NBA] team themselves don't really have a point guard aside from Reggie Jackson.
“[Coach Hewitt] was telling me about players that could be coming down and then that can get me possibly the opportunity to go up. Even though I'm signed with the Clippers, I can go to any team if I were to get a call-up. The opportunity is there. I just have to make the most of it.”
The Clippers also reached out to Small to learn more about Moon, who Small had been pushing all summer to focus on expanding his shot selection.
“We spoke about basketball - his speed, he has that burst that's at an NBA level,” recalls Small of a conversation with the Agua Caliente Clippers general manager. “What they really liked about him is he has upside, he has a lot of room, he hasn't hit his ceiling yet. He's only 26 and his ability to shoot the ball. They absolutely love that. He can make shots off the dribble and can catch-and-shoot as well.
“It's so funny because I was on him all summer, but that was one of the first things they said is ‘we like his ability to not just shoot off the dribble, but to catch and shoot. I'm like, ‘well, there you go,’ right?”
Small has witnessed Moon’s development first hand over the last three years and isn’t the least bit surprised that Moon is a step closer to the dream of playing in the NBA.
“I knew he had the talent and the ability to play at a higher level and even a higher level than the G League,” Small said. “It has always been there. But now his leadership has gotten better. He's maturing very well and he's understanding the game better.”
You can also count CEBL commissioner and CEO Mike Morreale among those who believe that the sky is the limit for Moon.
“Obviously Xavier has been a massive part of our league since inception, the only MVP we've known and back-to-back champion,” says Morreale. “It's exciting because people that watch us play and watch from a distance are like, ‘how is this guy not in the league, how is this guy not playing elsewhere?' because he literally has that capability.
“Xavier did 99 per cent of the work. I'm glad we were there to help him showcase what he does and to help get him to the G League and hopefully beyond that. That's a big part of what we want to do from a developmental point of view.”