Comparisons by Larry Brown to a former NBA star are just part of the evidence that junior forward Ben Moore might be the most underappreciated player on the SMU roster (photo by Pat Kleineberg).

The graduation of centers Yannick Moreira and Cannen Cunningham meant more than the loss of more than 17 points and nearly 10 rebounds per game for the SMU men’s basketball team. Moreira and Cunningham were the two biggest players on the roster, standing 6-foot-11 and 6-10, respectively, and joined guard Ryan Manuel as the team’s top defensive players, according to head coach Larry Brown.

Their exit also meant the Mustangs were heading into the 2015-16 season without a true center on the roster. Seniors Markus Kennedy and Jordan Tolbert have manned the post this season, but each is a converted forward helping out in the middle to help his team. An injury or foul trouble for either would make the already-thin SMU roster dangerously undermanned in the paint.

Teammate Sterling Brown said Moore is a better ball handler than some point guards (photo by Pat Kleineberg).

But at the beginning of the season, Brown said junior forward Ben Moore would help Kennedy and Tolbert by taking his turn in the low post. At first, some heard the idea and raised their eyebrows at the idea that the 6-8 Moore, who often plays on the perimeter and slashes to the basket, could hold his own against interior players who usually enjoy a slight advantage in height and often boast a significant edge in weight.

Consider the Mustangs’ home game Jan. 10 against Central Florida. Against starting UCF center Tacko Fall, who is listed at 7-6 and 300 pounds, Moore looked almost like child-like in stature. When digging in against backup center Justin McBride, who carries at least the listed 325 pounds on his 6-10 frame, Moore was startlingly study and solid in the paint.

Moore relies on his quickness and basketball IQ to get around taller, heavier players. He averages 11.9 points and 7.2 rebounds per game. His rebounding average is second-highest on the team, while his scoring average is tied with former SMU guard Keith Frazier for the second-highest average on the team. He handles the ball well enough to bring the ball upcourt like a guard, is a consistent shooter at the rim and on midrange jumpers, and is among the best passers on a team widely considered to be one of the best passing teams in the nation.

“He moves, he’s quick,” guard Sterling Brown said. “He’s not one of those big guys who’s going to post you and back you down. He’s going to be right there and you’re going to be right there a half a second later. He’s just real quick and real ‘slinky’ so he can get around you. He just knows how to work his body to get around you and get to the ball no matter how big you are. He’s got a different kind of game from other people. That’s why I say he’s just Ben Moore — he’s not like anybody else.”

That ability to beat his opponent to a spot and hold his own has been evident in numerous games, perhaps none more than in the matchup against UCF. Still working his way back from an ankle/foot injury, Kennedy was limited to just 14 minutes and scored just two points, meaning Moore and Tolbert were left to share the job of tangling with the Knights’ giants in the middle. Fall and McBride combined for 27 points but managed just two rebounds between them. When they tried to back Moore down, he dug his heels in and held his ground against players with at least a 100-pound weight advantage. He also came within four of outscoring the Knights’ twin towers by himself, and had three times as many rebounds — six — as Fall and McBride combined.

The Mustangs’ roster says Moore carries just 205 pounds on his 6-8 frame; Moore says even that number is a bit generous. During the season, he said, he fluctuates between 195 and 200 pounds.

“Coach ’Los (SMU strength coach Carlos Daniel) right there,” Moore said when asked how he survives among the game’s biggest, strongest players. “He’s doing great, he’s been helping me out. I’m the strongest I’ve ever been, and I feel like I’m in the best shape I’ve ever been in. He has been the main part of that.”

Daniel does deserve credit for helping Moore survive against big players, and says Moore’s strength has improved considerably, even since the start of the season.

“He doesn’t look as big as Markus or JT, but Ben is really strong,” Daniel said. “He’s never going to be as big as some guys, but he can hold his own down low.”

Brown agreed that Daniel has helped Moore — partly because of his strength and conditioning expertise, but also because his background as a player and working with professional players means his workouts are basketball-specific and tailored to fit different players at different positions.

“I think Carlos has helped a lot,” Brown said. “You know, Rickey Dudley was great, and the kids had a lot of confidence in him, and then now you get an NBA strength and conditioning coach who has played the sport, has been around the best players in the world. He has had a positive effect on all our kids.

Moore has developed into a versatile offensive threat who has developed a reliable midrange shot and also can slash to the rim (photo by Pat Kleineberg).

When Moore was a freshman, Larry Brown compared him to former NBA forward Derrick McKey, who excelled while playing for Brown with the Indiana Pacers.

“Well, Derrick’s one of the greatest players I ever coached that nobody knows about,” the Mustangs’ Hall of Fame coach said. “His impact on our team was never measured by the stat sheet, and I think Ben, in a lot of ways, does that. If he ever turns out like Derrick, he’ll have one (professional) coach who will be extremely proud.”

Moore’s effectiveness in the paint might be because he can hold his own against bigger, heavier players … but doesn’t have to play inside. He has honed his shooting to be much more consistent — his .552 field goal shooting percentage ranks third on the team, he is an exceptional passer and he is a much better ball handler than many realize.

“Everything, really,” Sterling Brown said when asked what Moore does best. “I don’t think people realize how many things he can do well. You can look and see how many points he scores and how many rebounds he gets, but I don’t think people realize how well he can dribble, handle the ball and get to the basket. He doesn’t show it a lot, playing the ‘four’ position, but he’s a great passer and can dribble it real well, better than some point guards I know.

“Those things don’t show up on the stat sheet, but he just has a great all-around feel for the game. You see him playing at the ‘four,’ being efficient there, rebounding, getting layups, but he also can knock down the mid-range jump shot, drive the ball … he can do a lot.”

“He can do so many things with the basketball,” guard Shake Milton said. “He’s either rebounding or finding an open shooter or making plays for himself. He’s so versatile. He can do a lot of things. It takes a lot — a lot of thinking — to play for Coach Brown, but Ben is such a smart guy, he has been through the system, so he knows what he needs to do, what he should be looking for in every situation.”

Moore doesn’t shy away from the description that he is a cerebral player. The son of parents who value academic success above all else, he chose SMU over scholarship offers from other schools, including Colorado State and Illinois, for academic reasons as much as for basketball reasons. He treasures the time he spends listening to music, and says he considers what people tell him, that he is quick to question.

“I think so — I try to be,” he said. “I try to think out the situation to the best of my ability. I’ve always been that way. That’s how my family is, and I kind of take after them.”

Moore said that if the opportunity arises, he definitely would like to pursue a professional career, a goal both Larry Brown and Daniel said is within Moore’s reach. But if Moore is a thinking man’s basketball player, that interest in learning also carries over to the classroom for the English major.

Ben Moore leads the Mustangs with 33 blocked shots (photo by Pat Kleineberg).

“I love writing,” Moore said. “Something in my future I could see myself doing is something with writing. I just love English — I’ve always been good at it. I wasn’t really thinking about it from a job perspective. I was thinking about it more like, when you create something as an art form, it lasts forever — it’s timeless. So if I can create something timeless, I’m leaving a piece of myself to the world. I thought that was cool.”

Moore admits to a fascination with short stories. He has written some, but has yet to share them while he hones his craft.

“Short stories have always been interesting to me, so I’ve always felt I want to write a short story that really means something to someone,” he said. “My family hasn’t even read what I have written. Maybe when I get better at it, I’ll share them.”

That desire to learn and improve describes Moore’s approach since he first suited up for the Mustangs. He has gotten stronger, and become a better ball handler and shooter. As the Ponies’ roster shrunk with the departures of Frazier and Sedrick Barefield, his value to the team grew as he showed time and again his ability to run the fast break, score in a variety of ways or simply find an open teammate with accurate passers.

Moore’s effort to improve hit a significant bump when he was suspended for SMU’s fourth game of the season — a win over visiting Brown — for an unspecified violation of team rules. Moore didn’t hide from the incident; instead, he took what has proven to be his typical approach, and turned it into a learning experience. Whether he ends up playing professionally or doing something with his English degree, the suspension made Moore realize he could lose his chance at both. The Mustangs beat Brown without him, but Moore said he was miserable watching his teammates play without him.

“Yeah, I definitely deserved it and I definitely learned from it,” Moore said. “I learned that basketball is the most important thing, because it got me here. I’ve got to keep my mind on that, because I can’t leave my teammates out to dry.

“It was tough, because I was trying to motivate them from the bench, and I knew they (were) playing hard, but I also knew I messed up, and I felt terrible about it, because I hate to see them out there playing and I can’t do anything to help them.”

His coach said Moore’s development in his three years on the Hilltop has been less about his physical improvement than in his belief in his ability. As Moore’s confidence has grown, Brown said, so too has his impact on the Mustangs’ season.

“I think he’s just starting to believe in himself,” Larry Brown said. “The ability has always been there … I think he has probably cared too much, put too much pressure on himself. Now he seems like he’s much more relaxed, confident — he has just been amazing.”