The University of Pennsylvania’s new men’s basketball coach, Fran McCaffery, announced on April 11th that he had hired Ronald Moore as an assistant coach. Moore is a native and current resident of Plymouth Meeting and a graduate of Plymouth Whitemarsh High School.
Moore played for McCaffery at Siena College and will make his college coaching debut with the Quakers after a professional career in Europe that saw him play for teams in seven different countries. Since retiring in 2021, he has been co-owner of Moore Brothers Basketball, which runs camps, leagues, AAU programs and training for youth boys and girls.
“Ronald was my starting point guard at Siena, and we won 97 games with him leading us,” said McCaffery. “From there, he went on to have an amazing journey as a professional player in Europe and I think that will resonate with our guys. He moved back to the Philadelphia area following his retirement and is very well known in the city’s basketball community. Ronald has a tremendous personality, and I get excited when I think about him working with our players on a daily basis. I believe he will be excellent in every capacity of coaching, from recruiting and scouting to player development.”
“I am excited for this opportunity, especially to do it alongside Coach McCaffery who has been such an integral figure in my own basketball career,” said Moore. “I look forward to working with him and helping bring Penn Basketball back to its place as the flagship program in the Ivy League.”
As coach and player, McCaffery and Moore had what is recognized as the greatest three-year run in the Siena men’s basketball history. The Saints won three straight Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) championships and made NCAA Tournament appearances every year from 2008-10, winning NCAA first-round games over Vanderbilt (2008) and Ohio State (2009).
Moore graduated as Siena’s all-time assists leader (823) and held the two best single-season totals in program history with 261 as a senior in 2009-10 and 224 as a junior in 2008-09. A member of the winningest class in program history (97) and the only class to post four 20-win seasons, Moore scored 1,070 career points and also graduated third all-time with 223 career steals.
A 2010 District I First Team selection by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), Moore was a national finalist for the Bob Cousy Award which honors the nation’s top collegiate point guard. He also was a first-team All-MAAC selection as a senior, second-team All-MAAC as a junior, and a two-time MAAC All-Tournament Team selection (2009, 2010),
Moore was inducted into the Siena College Athletics Hall of Fame in 2017. He graduated in 2010 with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and management.
As a senior at Plymouth Whitemarsh High School, Moore was a third-team All-Southern Pennsylvania selection by The Philadelphia Inquirer.
Moore comes from a well-known basketball family. His uncle, Jimmie Baker, played in the American Basketball Association. His older brother, Chuck Moore, played college basketball for Vanderbilt, and his cousin, John Salmons, enjoyed a 13-year career in the NBA.
Photo: University of Pennsylvania
