The Times 2023 Coach of the Year Larry Moore Jr, right, with his father Larry Moore Sr.
HAMMOND — Hammond Central just won the sectional in a thrilling 54-53 game against host Munster. Wolves coach Larry Moore Jr. looked exhausted during postgame interviews when his father, former coach Larry Moore Sr., approached.
“I’m so proud of you,” father said to son as they hugged.
Both men showed a brief window of emotion in the moment.
“There’s not many people who’s sons and fathers have both won sectionals. There’s a lot of layers to what that means,” Moore Jr. said. “I’m not just winning it for myself. I’m winning for him, his teammates, (my assistants’) teammates. Our wins are meaningful to a lot of people in the Hammond community.”
It's that community that molded Moore.
Hammond Central coach Larry Moore Jr. has a word with Davion Doty last season.
His parents, Crystal and Larry Sr., were both star athletes and coaches at Hammond High. Each is in the Hammond Sports Hall of Fame on display in the Civic Center.
Moore was an assistant and junior varsity coach for his dad at Hammond High after college. The lessons learned during those years were many and while their styles of play may be a little different, Moore Jr. said the foundation of playing hard, being tough and caring about the kids came directly from his father.
“I love to coach. It’s ingrained in me because my mother and my father coached,” Moore said. “I grew up in a gym. If I wasn’t at practice with (my mom), I was at practice with my dad. My knowledge of the game came from them initially and then my coaches in college.”
He played for some big names at Eastern Illinois, Southern Indiana and Loras College. While he was with the Panthers, current Purdue head coach Matt Painter was an assistant. He played under now Auburn coach Bruce Pearl at Southern Indiana. He keeps in touch with former EIU assistant Kevin Mouton. He sometimes reaches out to Purdue assistant coach Brandon Brantley, an Andrean graduate and Gary native. Between that network and his parents, Moore has virtually always been around great basketball minds.
“He’s got the solid background to be a good coach,” Moore Sr. said.
Moore and his dad dedicated this season to Crystal, who died last spring. It was the best basketball year seen on Calumet Avenue in almost seven decades.
Hammond Central coach Larry Moore Jr.
The Wolves were 26-2, losing only one regular season game to an out-of-state opponent. They earned sectional and regional trophies. That success is why Larry Moore Jr. is the 2023 Times Coach of the Year.
“This is the first time for me in sports, as a player or as a coach, that (my mom) wasn’t there,” Moore Jr. said. “It was different for me and my family.”
The season ended with a disappointing loss to Markus Burton and Penn at semistate, but it was a breakthrough for Moore and his program after years of heartbreaks.
Hammond Central coach Larry Moore Jr. talks about his team's regional victory this season.
Before the city of Hammond consolidated schools, Moore was the coach at Hammond High School. His Wildcats won four consecutive sectional titles in that school’s final four seasons between 2018 and 2021. A promising season in 2020 was ended by a pandemic. Hammond was 18-1 when it was stopped in the regional the next year by South Bend St. Joseph. The outcome of that one may have been different had the Wildcats not lost star point guard Reggie Abram to an injury.
“For me, it’s just for fuel to keep working because I still think we’re the underdog,” he said. “Let’s just beat everybody and then they have no choice but to give you respect. That’s the mentality.”
That mentality is another thing likely found in Moore’s DNA.
He was a high school star playing for his father at St. Francis de Sales in Chicago. Even then it was clear he would someday coach as he helped break down tape of opponents.
Larry Moore Sr. still watches film with his son, pointing out an opposing player’s or defense’s tendencies while trying not to be too overbearing. It's not his team, anymore. On game day, he doesn’t say anything to Larry Jr., just sends the same text before the tip. It reads “Good luck, Junior.” The response always comes back “Thanks, Pop.”
“I’m so proud of him,” Moore Sr. said. “To win a regional, which hasn’t been done in 69 years, when you think about all the great coaches that coached at Hammond High. You’ve got Leroy Harwell, George Green, Gunner Wyman. Think about all the great coaches that had some great teams and great players that didn’t win a regional. 1954. That’s a long time.”
Moore Jr. still viewed the season as a disappointment, though, even a couple weeks after it was over. Penn routed the Wolves 108-70 in that last game.
“It’s not about the loss. It’s how we lost that I’m not over. I don’t think that we competed. We had blown assignments. I just think we didn’t take advantage of what was in front of us,” he said. “We went 26-2, only lost one game in Indiana. We did a lot of things that had never been done. Our benchmarks are definitely there and I’m proud of what they did. It’s just a sour taste. But I’m definitely proud of (my players).”
One of those is Times Player of the Year Jordan Woods, who said the team rallied around their coach.
“With his mother passing, some people would’ve gave up on coaching. He uses that as momentum to keep going,” Woods said. “He knows she loves us and everything he does for us. That motivates him a lot.”
That relationship with his players is one sign of a good coach, Moore Sr. said. Another is the ability to make adjustments at halftime or even on the fly. He’s watched Larry Jr. develop an ability to do exactly that.
Hammond Central’s Jordan Woods hugs head coach Larry Moore as the Wolves celebrated their Class 4A sectional title this season.
“That’s what you see (Munster coach Mike) Hackett do. That’s what you see (Chesterton coach Marc) Urban do. That’s what you see great coaches do and he’s starting to get that way. He’s one of those elite coaches now,” Moore Sr. said. “I’m very, very proud of him.”
Those are the people whose respect Moore Jr. wants. Being named coach of the year by a newspaper or recognized by a fan or parent is nice, but what Moore craves is the admiration of those in the Region that know the game best.
People like his parents.
“If I get the respect from my peers, that’s all that matters to me,” Moore said. “Certain guys, you look across and you’re like ‘Damn, I’m going to have to coach tonight. I got to make adjustments. I got to play chess because they’re going to.’ So, if I get that respect from my peers, that speaks more to me (than anything else).”
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