In the 2016-2017 season the Fraport Skyliners made a huge steal signing rookie Shavon Shields out of Nebraska(NCAA) and he had a magnificent season which helped him become a very good Euroleague player. Four years later the 2016 FIBA Europe Cup winner Frankfur organization did it again hauling in Rasheed Moore who has evolved into one of the best Skyliner players this season despite still being totally off the BBL radar. But there is one massive difference between the Sheidls and Moore scenario´s. Ok So Shields wasn´t such a huge prospect coming out of college and he wasn´t able to reach a top level right away, but reached teh Euroleague in his third season while Rasheed Moore had to pay gigantic dues as he began at the bottom in the fourth German division and has had to climb the basketball ladder step by step and reached the top level in Germany in three years. He is one of only a few guys that have gone from the Regionalliga to the BBL as guys  Devin Uskoski and Steve Wachalski demonstrated in the last years.   The development and rise of Moore has been incredible this season as he swooped in like an aggressive eagle looking for it´s prey on every offensive possession and is after sniper Matt Mobley the second best player on the team. He also is without a doubt the best forward that Frankfurt has had on it´s roster since Shavon Shields. When Moore was a senior at east Stroudsberg(NCAA), he was still as far away from Germany and professional basketball as Golden State Warrior Eric Paschall is from being a bonafide NBA impact player. When he was a senior he actually knew who Shavon Shields was and sees his connection to Shields with his good play in Frankfurt and the possibility of reaching the Euroleague a good omen for the future. “I remember hearing of him when he was at the university of Nebraska but I wasn’t sure where he went after he left college. Yea I think it is a good omen for me but I also know I still have a lot of things I can improve on in order to get to that level”, stressed Rasheed Moore. Fraport Skyliner living legend and identity figure Quantez Robertson can only laud Rasheed Moore in the highest state and knows exactly where his place is already with the best forwards that he has played with in his 12 year career. “Shavon began at the four with us, but then played the three. They were complete opposites. Shavon was more of an outside player that can bang while Rasheed prefers to bang, but can also step out and shoot the three. I played with many great forwards like Roger Powell, Seth Doliboa and Jon Leuer, but Rasheed is up there with guys like them despite them all having more experience. I think it is very much possible that he can get to the Eurocup or Euroleague if he continues to improve and develop further. If he were to play in the Euroleague he would have to play the three. He would still be a match up problem at the three at that level. He has that big body frame and can post up”, warned Quantez Robertson.

                Rasheed Moore is a 25 year old 198cm forward from Philadelphia that is playing his fourth professional season and first with the Fraport Skyliners. He got his early basketball grooming at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania (NCAA2) where he averaged in double figures in scoring each season and as a senior averaged 19.0ppg, 7.0rpg, 1.1apg, 1.0spg, 1.2bpg, FGP: 53.4%, 3PT: 48.0%, FT: 79.2%. It isn´t easy becoming a professional coming from NCAA 2 basketball and he learned the hard way having to play his rookie season in the German Regionalliga. He became an impact player right away averaging 21.4ppg, 7.4rpg, 1.7apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 56.2%, 3PT: 31.4%, FT: 75.5%. He helped theteam move up to the Pro B and his rise continued there as he averaged 20.8ppg, 6.5rpg, 1.7apg, 1.4spg, FGP: 52.6%, 3PT: 29.2%, FT: 76.4%. He once again helped the organization move up to the second league called Pro A and last season he had another impressive season averaging 15.6ppg, 4.7rpg, 2.1apg, 1.2spg, FGP: 51.2%, 3PT: 39.3%, FT: 73.0%. he continued to prove that he had game as he not only put up great stats, but showed this special consistency that isn´t self-evident for a player that had to adjust to a new style, and players each season. His consistency was incredible as in his three year wiha Panthers career, he played 86 games and scored in double figures in 78 games. He had already had that responsibility to have to score and be an impact player at at East Stroudsburg University of Pennsylvania, so he had experience and continued getting that special confidence form his ex head coach in Schwenningen with Alen Velcic. Velcic is a big reason for the rise and development of Moore into a very good BBL player. Getting that scoring responsibility role right from the start from Alen Velcic was vital for him continuing to impress at the BBL level. “I would say it was very important because it gave me a lot more confidence to just go out and play my game. Even on days where I wasn’t playing my best he still had the confidence in me to go and make a play that we would need at the end of the game. So with out him wanting me to be the go to guy I don’t know if I would have become the player that I am today”, warned Rasheed Moore. “In three years we made him from a Regionalliga player into a BBL player. He wasn´t a finished player when he came to us. We were lucky that he and I grew in this time. Who knows what would have happened if he hadn´t moved up a league each season. He learned to be diligent with us and to work hard and be a part of the team and be a leader. I remember how shy he was in 2017 as a 21 year old. He made great strides developing as a person and his game. We still have contact today”, stressed Alen Velcic.

                The Fraport Skyliners already wanted to sign Rasheed Moore for the BBL final tournament in Munich last summer, but he would have had to go into quarantine and he wouldn´t have been able to join the team during the tournament. But the Fraport Skyliners didn´t wait long to sign him as a few weeks after the 19-20 season had ended he was an official member of the Fraport Skyliners. It hasn´t been an easy season for the Fraport Skyliners who currently are in 10th place with a record of 7-12. They had the misfortune of playing top teams FC Bayern Munich, Alba Berlin and the EWE Baskets and prompt lost each game. Then came a better phase where they won five of eight games, but they were all opponents that they had to beat except for Ludwigsburg and Crailsheim. They lost a bitter 92-91 game to rival Giessen. As of late they have been struggling again losing six of eight games, but still are only two wins away from the last playoff spot. The biggest bright spot of this up and down season has been Rasheed Moore. He has been able to adjust to the up and down season mainly because he had seen that type of thing before in the past. “Coming from Schwenningen I also know what it is like to have a tough stretch and then bounce back. We went through a lot of tough stretches as a team. We still have a lot of time to turn this around and go on a run to fight for a playoff spot”, warned Rasheed Moore. One of the biggest problems for the club is their inability to put it all together for 40 minutes. They show great spurts in games, but then it all changes for the worse like night and day. Having bad phases isn´t always easy for the mental state. “I don’t know if it is a mental problem. We just have a tough time staying together as a team. We have to find a way to be much more consistent at playing together and then we will be able to keep our bad phases to a minimum”, stressed Rasheed Moore. With the stretch run of the season approaching fast, Rasheed Moore knows exactly what the team has to do to reach the post season. “We  have to be a lot better defensively and rebounding. The games where we have been really good are the games that we have been able to do these things very well. We have struggled the games where we give teams to many extra opportunities and to many easy looks”, warned Rasheed Moore.

                The American has played 19 BBL games and currently is averaging 11,3ppg, 3,9rpg and 1,4apg while shooting 37% from outside which is his highest percentage as a professional. When you watch him play at the BBL level, his aggressiveness quickly stands out. His secret for his success is simple. If you don´t invest time in the lab, then you can´t get better. “I just worked extremely hard on all of the aspects of my game that I struggled with last year. I am in much better shape than I have ever been in and that has also helped. I also have a lot of confidence in myself to be able to go out and perform no matter who we are playing. My teammates when I first got here told me I needed to be more aggressive and just play. So all of those are the reason I think I have been able to come out and perform the way I have”, expressed Rasheed Moore. He is like a swiss army knife in that he can do a little bit of everything and just focuses on doing little wrong on the court. “Growing up my coach always told me it was better to have a lot of tools in your bag than only having a couple. He always pushed me to just try and become the best version of my self and work on every part of my game so that I didn’t have many weaknesses. So with all of the habits I built throughout the years of practicing all of the little things that I do on the floor are just habits”, stated Rasheed Moore. Recently in a tough loss against Brose Bamberg, he finished with 22 points, 6 rebounds and 3 dimes and began the game like the mains coring option making the team´s first three shots. It is clear to see that his self-confidence grows with each game. “I would say my self-confidence plays a big role. You can´t play at this high of a level if you do not have a lot of confidence in yourself.  You have to believe in yourself and everything that you can bring to the floor”, warned Rasheed Moore. Just two seasons ago, his three pointer was a weakness and a big work in progress while today he is a very much better shooter. Once again grinding, grinding and grinding can really pay off in the long run. Captain Quantez Robertson observes him taking shots before and after practice. “I am always in the gym just trying to get better. One of my biggest weaknesses in my game was always that I wasn’t a consistent enough shooter. So now I am always just trying to perfect my shot and trying to shoot the ball the same way every time”, said Rasheed Moore. Head coach Sebastian Gleim is very proud of how he has developed and hasn´t ever coached a player like him before. “From day one Rasheed has been doing everything to improve and to help the team. He had to play for 2 people with the injury to Richard Freudenberg. He used his chance and his good play isn´´t a surprise anymore. Now we have to support him to help him to get even better with his game. He is one of the best guys that I have ever coached”, warned Fraport Skyliners head coach Sebastian Gleim. “It doesn´t surprise me at all that Rasheed has landed in the BBL. The most important thing for him to be able to stay is that he keeps a good head on his shoulder which he has. But he still isn´t at the end of his development. He still has much potential”, warned wiha Panthers Schwenningen head coach Alen Velcic.

                He is only 25 years old and no where near his prime yet. He understands that he still has a long road ahead of him to get to even higher levels, but with his rising self-confidence and track record of moving up levels with Schwenningen that anything is possible. He will continue to work his butt off. “I still need to keep becoming a much better shooter and more consistent rebounder. I think if I keep working on these two things especially I would be able to keep move up the ladder”, stressed Rasheed Moore. He is as humble as one can get, but deep down he has huge goals and knows what he is capable of and will do all he can to get to the Euroleague. “I believe it is definitely still realistic for me to shoot to make it to that level. I am only 25 so hopefully I still have a lot of basketball still ahead of me so I just have to keep working extremely hard if I want to make it to that level”, said Rasheed Moore. A big plus that Rasheed Moore has is his positive charisma and character. He tries to do everything for the team success and if someone had told him in training camp that in February 2021 he would belong to the best players on the team, he would have wished something different then having that distinction. “I would have said that is amazing but I would have been more worried about how the team is doing. I would much rather just be a role player on a very good winning team than worried about my own play and stats”, added Rasheed Moore.

                Even if Rasheed Moore´s game evolves mostly around his offensive qualities, he knows that he also has to play defense and also has been making positive strides in this area. In order to play at higher levels, you have to be a good defender. He is fortunate to have Quantez Robertson as a teammate who has belonged to the top defenders in the BBL for the last decade. He has the luxury to be able to soak up so much from Robertson and is very grateful of having a teammate of his caliber. “Tez has definitely helped a lot. I have learned just how to be a lot more physical especially defensively. Watching him play defense every day and how aggressive he is has taught me a lot. He is also a great leader and always has some advice to give me”, warned Rasheed Moore. Quantez Robertson is also very impressed of how the American has been able to adjust so quickly to the BBL and be so consistent. “Rasheed has developed into a key player for us. He is a heck of a match up problem for other teams. I really appreciate how aggressive he is and always plays hard and gives us all he has”, stressed Quantez Robertson. He hasn´t even completed his first full BBL season, but everything simply is perfect about his game. It is a real shame that nobody has really noticed him yet. He is absolutely non existent in the media something which is simply incomprehensible. The only thing he can do is to continue to sparkle with his game. He personally doesn´t need the attention, but his game should be on the radar of everyone in the BBL. For me Rasheed Moore is a player that could be the perfect candidate to replace Quantez Robertson as the organizations next identity figure whenever he retires. Robertson sees Moore as a perfect successor. “He has the potential to follow in my footsteps. I feel like the club would benefit very much. Fans haven´t seen him in person yet. I think that once fans are allowed back into the arena´s, it will make it a lot easier for him”, warned Quantez Robertson. Not only Quantez Robertson and I could imagine Rasheed Moore in Frankfurt for many years, but him also. “I could imagine it because it has been a lot of fun here this year even under the circumstances of COVID. The organization just made me feel like I was home as soon as I got here back in early September”, warned Rasheed Moore. “I know that many teams are annoyed now that they didn´t listen to me. The future will show where he belongs. The transfer from Schwenningen to Frankfurt was spot on”, warned Alen Velcic. It is just time that the German basketball community finally notices Rasheed Moore as a player who has landed in the BBL, because he has evolved into one of the best Fraport Skyliner players that still has a huge future ahead of him.