BIO: Ramone Edward Moore Jr. was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (USA) where he attended South Philadelphia High School, the alma mater of basketball players Nate Blackwell and Lionel Simmons. As a junior, he was named All-Philadelphia Public League honorable mention before leading the Philadelphia Public League in scoring as a senior. Moore would also earn the Public League MVP that season as well.

FAMILY: The son of Ramone Moore, Sr. and Stephanie Pugh.

NBL EXPERIENCE

Ramone Moore made his NBL debut with the Melbourne United at 27 years of age. He scored nine points in his first game.

With the league allowing three import players per team this season, Melbourne replaced import duo Stephen Holt and Hakim Warrick with Cedric Jackson, Ramone Moore and Williams. They essentially signed a fourth import by then adding Tai Wesley (via New Zealand) who was allowed to sign as a local under the asian player rule and swapped one Boomers big man for another with David Anderson (via Europe) replacing Daniel Kickert (to Sydney).

In coach Dean Demopoulos second season, United started poorly (3-7) and Jackson (10.0 points, 4.9 rebounds, 5.6 assists, and 1.4 steals) quickly being shown the door due to a poor attitude and failing to buy into the team’s defensive principals.

Casper Ware arrived as his replacement shortly after, immediately changing the squad’s direction.

Around this time, Chris Goulding (17.0 points, 2.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists, and 1.0 steals), who missed six games with ankle issues, began to find his form, and David Barlow (5.1 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 1.3 assists), returned from a calf injury that had seen him unable to take the court at all for the past two years.

Behind Ware (22.1 points, 4.5 assists, and 1.3 steals) and a healthy roster, United turned things around, winning 10 of their last 18 games.

With the team still capable of reaching the playoffs, Devin Williams (3.2 points and 4.0 rebounds), who surprisingly lasted 16 games before being cut after media and fans pointed out his lack of production and called for an import change for most of the season. With a third of the season remaining, Josh Boone (10.1 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 1.1 blocks) arrived and quickly went to work cleaning up Ware and Goulding’s missed shots and finished as the league’s best rebounder.

During the season, a calf injury saw Ramone Moore (10.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.0 assists) miss eight games, and Lasan Kromah was brought in as an injury replacement. In three games, he scored three points on 14% shooting and was released quickly as it became clear he was unable to an improvement on Moore’s production.

In Demopoulos’ second year as head coach, he would struggle managing player relationships, and by the end of the season, it was public knowledge his relationship with certain players wasn’t ‘civil’. A divide between the veterans of the team and the ever-competitive Demopoulos would result in seeing United unable to replicate the success from the previous season, finishing in sixth-place finish (13-15) and both parties moving on at the end of the season.

ADELAIDE 36ERS
2017/18
With the 36ers’ roster proving it had what it takes to contend the championship, coach Joey Wright locked in all eight Australian players (Mitch Creek, Nathan Sobey, Daniel Johnson, Matthew Hodgson, Brendan Teys, Majok Deng, Anthony Drmic and Adam Doyle) and looked to go one step further. One notable absence from the roster was star US import Jerome Randle, who reportedly had asked for $300k per season, which was far outside what Adelaide or other NBL teams were able to pay. Randle then chose to play in Turkey with Bahçeşehir instead of staying in Adelaide, and the team replaced him with experienced guard, Shannon Shorter.

Philadelphian shooting guard Ramone Moore (via Melbourne) and athletic forward Ronald Roberts were signed as the team’s other two imports, completing the roster.

In mid-September 2017, the 36ers travelled to Singapore in the pre-season to compete in the Merlion Cup. The team remained undefeated throughout the tournament and defeated the Shanghai Sharks in the final to be crowned the 2017 Merlion Cup Champions.

Import woes began early in the season for Adelaide. It began with import Ronald Roberts who was released a week before the season tipped off with the team citing the big man had suffered a ‘knee injury’ although Roberts responded via Twitter stating he’s ‘100 percent fine’. Veteran forward Alan Wiggins was signed as a replacement for Roberts, but he suffered a broken arm in his NBL debut against the Sydney Kings. With Wiggins requiring surgery and set to miss eight weeks, the team signed former Sydney Kings star Josh Childress.

Despite the import roller-coaster, the Sixers impressed on the road early but struggled to string consistent performances together, winning half of their first 16 games. It was around this time Randle, who had left Turkey claiming he hadn’t been paid his salary on time, enquired about returning to the 36ers, but with the team being already finalised, Randle instead signed with the Sydney Kings as a replacement for import guard Travis Leslie.

Injuries crippled the 36ers over the next month. Both Creek, who was ruled out for three weeks on December 12 2017, after tearing a small muscle from the bone from his hamstring and then Drmic (6.6 points and 2.7 rebounds), after a medial collateral ligament sprain in his left knee, would spend the next three weeks alongside him.

Moore, would would be selected as the NBL’s Best Sixth Man this season, notched up a career high 27-points in a game against New Zealand in December and finished with averages of 11.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, and 2.6 assists.

A disappointing 19-point loss against the Cairns Taipans at home on Christmas Eve summed up the Sixers start to the season. This loss, however, seemed to be the turning point for the Sixers, who went on to win 10 of their last 12 games, including seven in a row, and booked themselves a second spot on the ladder at the end of the regular season.

in the semifinals, Adelaide made short work of third-ranked Perth, handing out the Wildcats second largest finals loss ever in game one (109–74). The 36ers rebounded to defeat Perth in game two (89–88) behind the stellar play of Josh Childress (25 points and 10 rebounds).

A grand final series against Melbourne came next, where United’s Casper Ware (20 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists) erupted in the first half of game one before exiting the game with a hip injury. United’s Chris Goulding would then step up with a impressive shooting display (26 points) to propel Melbourne to victory (107-96) at Hisense Arena. Daniel Johnson (18 points) and Mitch Creek (14 points, 9 rebounds, and 4 assists) finished as the 36ers leading scorers.

In game two, Adelaide came out with a bang with Majok Deng (18 points) leading the team in scoring. Mitch Creek and Ramone Moore (both 17 points) also stepped up as the 36ers tied the series (110-95). Casey Prather (20 points) and Chris Goulding (19 points) finishing as United’s best on court.

The 36ers’ win came at a cost however, with import Josh Childress (13 points and 8 rebounds), going down with a shoulder injury in the fourth quarter which would keep him out of the remaining Grand Final games.

The series returned to Melbourne for game three, where tensions exploded at the end of the first half, Adelaide’s Nathan Sobey clashing heads with Casey Prather after the United import hit a three-pointer on the stroke of halftime. The Adelaide guard was called for a disqualifying foul and ejected from the match. There was further drama at the end of the game with players from both teams needing to be separated after the final buzzer. The incident also resulted in 36ers head coach Joey Wright being fined handsomely for questioning the integrity of the referees.

When the smoke settled, United won a tightly fought contest over the 36ers (101-98) after Adelaide’s Majok Deng missed a game-tying three-pointer in the final seconds. Casper Ware (25 points), Prather (23 points) and Chris Goulding (15 points), who hit three clutch triples to take control of the game, were among United’s best.

Game four saw Adelaide swingman Nathan Sobey (16 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 assists), who was ejected in game three for his part in the halftime melee, lead the way for the 36ers in the first half with the scoreboard reading 55-31 at the halfway mark. Again the home team was victorious, Adelaide getting a comfortable win over Melbourne United (90-81). Johnson (29 points and 10 rebounds) and Prather (23 points) top scoring for their respective sides.

In the deciding game five, Goulding, Ware (both 23 points) and Prather (19 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 steals) came to play and Melbourne defeated Adelaide (100-82) in front of a sold-out crowd at Hisense Arena, winning their first title since rebranding from the Tigers. Shannon Shorter (20 points) led Adelaide in scoring, while Chris Goulding was named Finals MVP after averaging 16.6 points and 3.6 rebounds over the five-game series. With the win, Prather collected his third NBL championship to become the first player in NBL history to win three straight titles in his first three seasons in the league.

2018/19
After narrowly missing out on the NBL championship the previous season, Adelaide was forced into a rebuilding mode with the departure of several key players, most notably second-leading scorer Mitch Creek. Creek left to pursue his NBA dream after a protracted negotiation between Adelaide and Basketball Australia.

During the NBL 2018 off-season, Creek was granted team approval to play in Germany with the understanding that he would return to the 36ers for the 2018/19 season. However, his strong performances in Germany caught the attention of the Brooklyn Nets, who signed him to their G-League team. The 36ers then filed an injunction to prevent Basketball Australia from approving Creek’s NBA deal without compensation, but after some initial backlash, a resolution was reached, allowing Creek to pursue his NBA aspirations.

Other departures included Shannon Shorter (to Japan), Josh Childress (retired), and Matthew Hodgson (to Brisbane). To address these roster gaps, Adelaide signed import Jacob Wiley (via Germany) to replace Creek and added point guard Adris De León to assist in scoring and playmaking duties. Rising stars Harry Froling and Jack McVeigh were also signed straight out of college, injecting youthful energy into the team.

Despite the roster shakeup, Adelaide retained key players from the previous season, including Nathan Sobey, Majok Deng, Adam Doyle, Brendan Teys, and import Ramone Moore. Leading scorer Daniel Johnson also returned and took over as team captain, replacing the departing Creek.

Adelaide began the season with a loss to Perth (91-99) at home in Round 1. However, they bounced back with a win against the Sydney Kings (94-83) on the road in their next game. In Round 3, Sobey delivered one of the standout moments of the season when he recorded a triple-double (22 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists) in the 36ers’ win over Cairns (91-83).

Adelaide then fell into a string of four consecutive losses starting the following game with a loss to New Zealand (94-114), and culminating in a loss to Brisbane (90-93) in Round 4. Key injuries, including a calf injury to Ramone Moore, further disrupted their momentum. An ultimatum was then delivered to De León that if the team couldn’t turn things around with a win over Sydney in their next game, they would look at rejigging the team’s roster.

De Leon (11 points, 5 rebounds, and 6 assists in 25 minutes) moved into the starting line-up and delivered a good game, but Sydney defeated Adelaide by 12, handing them their fourth loss in a row. De León (7.7 points, 2.6 rebounds, and 2.6 assists) was released, and former Illawarra import Demitrius Conger was signed as his replacement. With Moore still unable to take the court, Adelaide also signed Shaun Bruce, who had been unsigned after three seasons in Cairns, and who then played out the remaining games of the 36ers season.

Adelaide’s inconsistency continued. After winning back-to-back games against Cairns (109-95) and Illawarra (120-109) in Round 7, the 36ers lost a nail-biter to Illawarra at home (86-87) in Round 8. A victory over Brisbane (101-91) in Round 9 was followed by another defeat to Illawarra (90-93).

The 36ers finally found some rhythm in Round 14, winning four consecutive games, including a crucial victory over Perth (97-84) and a dominant win against Sydney (119-99). Unfortunately, their inconsistency returned, with losses to Melbourne (91-114) in Round 16 and Brisbane (87-98 OT) in Round 17. These critical losses ultimately affected their playoff chances.

Despite the challenges, Ramone Moore (9.2 points, 3.7 rebounds, and 4.3 assists) delivered a solid season for Adelaide. His standout performances included a 22-point, 5-assist, and 2-steal game against Illawarra (10 Jan 2019), where he showcased his scoring ability by shooting 7/11 from the field and 3/5 from beyond the arc. Another significant performance was his 18-point, 3-rebound, and 5-assist effort against New Zealand (7 Feb 2019), converting 7/11 shots, including 2/4 from three-point range. He also impressed with an 18-point, 5-rebound, and 5-assist game against Melbourne (26 Dec 2018), further highlighting his versatility and impact on both ends of the floor.

Moore’s contributions were also notable in a close loss to Melbourne (100-110) on 26 Dec 2018, where he scored 18 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, and recorded 2 steals, providing a key presence on both ends of the floor.

Adelaide struggled with inconsistency throughout the season, marked by injuries and roster changes. The 36ers managed to find some rhythm in Round 14, winning four consecutive games, including a crucial victory over Perth (97-84) and a dominant win against Sydney (119-99). Unfortunately, their inconsistency returned, with Melbourne handing Adelaide their worst loss of the season in Round 16 (114-91), and Brisbane defeating them in overtime in Round 17 (98-87 OT).

Alongside Moore, Daniel Johnson (17.0 points, 6.8 rebounds, and 2.4 assists) and Nathan Sobey (16.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 5.3 assists) were both named to the All-NBL Second Team. Other key players included Jacob Wiley (12.3 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 1 assist), Demitrius Conger (11.8 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 2.4 assists), Anthony Drmic (9.3 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 1.3 assists), and Harry Froling (7.9 points, 4.6 rebounds), who took home the NBL Rookie of the Year award.

Adelaide hovered between fourth and fifth place for most of the second half of the season, before finishing equal with Brisbane at 14-14. However, the Bullets advanced to the playoffs due to a higher points percentage, bringing Adelaide’s season to an end in fifth place. Despite the disappointment of missing the playoffs, Moore’s season was a strong personal showing, and he remained a key part of the 36ers’ plans moving forward.

Adelaide hovered between fifth and sixth for most of the season before finishing with a 14-14 record, narrowly missing the playoffs. Despite strong performances from Sobey and Johnson, the team’s inconsistency in critical moments prevented them from making a top-four finish. Adelaide’s season ended just short of playoff contention.

2019/20
During the 2019/20 season, Moore averaged 7.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.6 assists and helped the 36ers finish the regular season in seventh place (12-16).

This season, Moore became the first 36ers import to play three consecutive seasons with the club since Willie Farley (2005-2007).

Ramone Moore played four seasons in the NBL, playing for both the Melbourne United and the Adelaide 36ers. He averaged 9.7 points, 3 rebounds, and 2.7 assists in 91 NBL games.

Dan Boyce (811 Posts)

Dan Boyce is a die-hard Sydney Kings fan who grew up in Melbourne during the roaring 90's of Australian Basketball and spent far too much time collecting Futera NBL Basketball cards.