NU's Moore rediscovers his shooting stroke

It became an annoying late-night ritual for Craig Moore throughout last season.

Basketball games would end.

Mind games would begin.

Retreating to the off-campus apartment he shares with Northwestern teammate Jason Okrzesik, Moore would attempt to think his way out of a shooting slump. How could something so natural, so dependable, suddenly disappear for stretches?

"It would be terrible," Moore recalled.

The brainstorming sessions rarely helped.

"We looked at each other and thought, 'Is it something with mechanics? Is it who we're playing? Are they focusing on him?' " Okrzesik said. "He would definitely question what's wrong."

The questions have stopped for Moore. These days, he's all about answers.

Moore has slammed the door on a sorry sophomore season and sparked NU early in the 2007-08 campaign. The 6-foot-3 guard leads NU in scoring (14.5) and has reclaimed his 3-point stroke, hitting 44.8 percent of his long-distance attempts.

His play has steadied the Wildcats during the absence of standout forward Kevin Coble, who practiced this week and should return for the Big Ten season. Moore and his teammates wrap up pre-conference play Thursday against Howard (8 p.m., Big Ten Network).

"I'm glad it's just a new year," Moore said. "I knew I wouldn't have another stretch like that."

A lifetime of accurate shooting led to this conclusion, but it would take more for Moore to regain his form.

He shed 15 pounds in the offseason, trimming down to a comfortable 185 after a failed attempt to bulk up. He improved his conditioning level after having to sit out sprints last season because of a severe ankle sprain.

"He squared himself away with his diet and eating and lifting," Northwestern coach Bill Carmody said. "His body looks so different now compared to last year. He doesn't tire out.

"It just comes down to caring. He wakes up in the morning, he thinks about playing basketball. And that's what you need. When you care, you take care of your business."

Moore's business in the summer of 2006 was diversifying his game. He had been named to the Big Ten All-Freshman team after averaging 8.1 points in league play, but his game was one-dimensional.

Of Moore 171 shot attempts as a freshman, 152 came from beyond the arc. He once went five games without a 2-point bucket.

For Moore, leaving the perimeter meant breaking a habit. Joe Gill, a forward for Penn who grew up with Moore in Doylestown, Pa., remembers his friend rarely having to venture inside.

"He was always a great shooter, always above and beyond everyone else," said Gill. "He claims to have dunked in a game, but I would characterize it more as a layup where he touched the rim."

Added Moore: "Freshman year of high school, our star player did pick-and-rolls and I was just put on the wing to shoot 3s."

In the Big Ten, he needed to do much more to succeed.

"You can't just be a suburban jumpshooter," Carmody recalls telling Moore. "You've got to start going to the hole."

That's where Moore was headed during a pickup game in September 2006 when he landed on someone's foot. The resulting ankle sprain altered Moore's mechanics - his feet didn't hit the floor simultaneously after releasing a shot - and threw off his concentration.

He had some decent nonconference performances but struggled in league play, going 3-of-24 from 3-point range in a six-game span.

"I was thinking, 'If guys are right on me, am I going to come down on them? Do I have to move my ankle?' " Moore said. "Then, when the first three (shots) don't go in, you get mentally, like, 'What's going to happen next?' "

Moore has overcome the mental challenges and finished the skill-set expansion that he began last summer. He leads NU with 3.9 rebounds a game after averaging less than 2 in his first two seasons. He also has a team-high 17 steals after moving to the wing in the 1-3-1 zone defense.

"He knows he has to rebound, he has to pass," Okrzesik said. "He plays 37 minutes a game, so he's got to do a lot for us."

The presence of Okrzesik, another deadeye shooter, has helped Moore.

"We're very competitive," Moore said.

Before the season, assistant coach Mitch Henderson had both players take 200 shots. They finished with the same number of makes - 151.

Perhaps to settle things, the two guards bet who could make the most consecutive free throws. Okrzesik is 9-for-9 and Moore swished his first 11 before missing late in NU's road win against Western Michigan.

"After I missed it, he kind of winked at me, like, 'You're going to owe me money,' " Moore said.

Moore still holds a slight edge in 3-point shooting over Okrzesik, who has hit 44.7 percent of his attempts.

"Now we go back to the apartment and it's, 'Hey, remember that shot you hit on them?' instead of, 'So, what did we do wrong this game?'" Okrzesik said. "It's a lot more fun."

Howard (3-7)at Northwestern (4-4)

When: 8 p.m. Thursday at Welsh-Ryan Arena

TV: Big Ten Network

Radio: WGN 720-AM

The skinny: When a team plays once between Dec. 8 and Jan. 2, that game becomes critical, no matter the opponent. That's the situation facing Northwestern, which tries to surpass the .500 mark for the first time in its final game before the return of standout forward Kevin Coble. NU has won three straight despite struggling early in each game. The Wildcats lead the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (plus-1.72) but rank last in average rebounding margin (minus-13.8). NU guard Craig Moore aims for his third straight 20-point game. Howard has good size and should control the boards, but ball-handling is a major concern. The Bison committed 30 turnovers in their last game, a 36-point loss to VMI.