Cal’s Charlie Moore was expected to play an important role in the first season of the Wyking Jones era. However, the freshman point guard has elected to transfer to a school closer to his home in Chicago, the program announced on Thursday night.
“After many discussions with my family, I’ve made the decision to transfer to be closer to home,” Moore said in a statement issued by the school. “This was an extremely difficult decision for me, but the opportunity to be closer to my family is one that I feel is necessary for me at this time. I am grateful for my first year at California and for teammates who became my brothers. I look forward to supporting Coach Jones and the Bears in the future, and I also want to thank the fans for all their support this past season.”
Moore, who originally committed to Memphis but decommitted once Josh Pastner left for Georgia Tech, started 34 games for the Golden Bears and averaged 12.2 points, 3.5 assists, and 2.0 rebounds per game. In the second game of his collegiate career, he scored 38 points in an overtime win over UC-Irvine.
The 5-foot-11 Moore, rated No. 55 overall in the Class of 2016 by Rivals, had been recruited by both DePaul and Illinois. He took official visits to VCU and Pittsburgh along with trips to Memphis and Cal.
With Jabri Bird and Grant Mullins out of eligibility and Ivan Rabb entering the NBA Draft, Cal returns only one starter from a season ago. The Golden Bears do bring in Kentucky transfer Marcus Lee, who sat out last season due to NCAA transfer rules. King’s first year at the helm in Berkeley has the makings of a long one.