Duke Basketball: Wendell Moore displays winning ways in Myrtle Beach

A future Duke basketball player is heating up the Grand Strand this week, showing spectators his penchant for winning.

Wendell Moore, who became the Duke basketball program’s first 2019 commit back in October, has not allowed his Cox Mill High School to lose a game since the Beach Ball Classic at this time last year.

Last season, after three losses in eight days to national competition during December — including two losses at the annual tournament in Myrtle Beach — the 6-foot-6, 215-pound small forward out of Concord, N.C., led his squad to an unblemished streak after New Year’s, culminating in a second straight 3-A state championship.

And as a result of an opening-round 92-82 win over University (W.V.) at the post-Christmas weeklong showcase on Wednesday night, Moore’s Chargers now boast a 9-0 record this season.

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Although not all of the credit for the latest win goes to Moore — ranked No. 24 in his class on the 247Sports Composite — plenty does. After all, he scored 35 points on 13-for-22 shooting from the field (8-for-9 from the foul line) and also added 14 rebounds, three assists, and four steals across his 30 minutes on the court.

Not bad.

Moore — who uses his 6-foot-11 wingspan and ideal athleticism to generate buckets with ease and to cause headaches for opponents when playing defense — earned the award for Most Outstanding Player at the Beach Ball Classic a year ago (current Duke freshman R.J. Barrett took home the honor of Most Valuable Player after leading his Montverde Academy to the title).

If Moore is to become the second straight Blue Devil to win the MVP, his team will likely need to hoist the champion’s trophy after the tournament ends on New Year’s Eve; that will require three more wins, starting with a quarterfinal matchup on Friday at 5:15 p.m. against Scott County (KY).

And if Cox Mill wins that game, Moore could have to square off against a New York squad, Archbishop Stepinac, that features A.J. Griffin, a shooting guard who is ranked No. 11 on the composite for the 2021 class.

Looking even further ahead, if the Chargers are able to advance to the championship game, they have the potential to face another New York powerhouse, Christ the King, who has the services of Moussa Cisse, a 2021 big man ranked No. 8 in his class.

By winning the rest of his games this week — no simple task — Moore would be able to tell his grandkids one day about how he went an entire calendar year without suffering a loss during a high school game.

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And fans of the Blue Devils hope he will one day be able to say something similar about a winning streak while donning a Duke basketball jersey.

In addition to Moore, the Blue Devils already have commitments from two other 2019 recruits: five-star center Vernon Carey Jr. (ranked No. 2) and four-star combo guard Boogie Ellis (ranked No. 36).

The class currently ranks No. 6 nationally, according to 247Sports.

But coach Mike Krzyzewski and his staff are waiting for decisions from two other five-stars: center Isaiah Stewart, who is ranked No. 6 and could announce his college choice at any time, and forward Matthew Hurt, who is ranked No. 7 and is not expected to announce until the spring.

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