DAYTON, Ohio — Two Ohio players made their NCAA debuts Wednesday night not too far from home as the First Four wrapped up at UD Arena.
Sean Moore, a junior at Fairleigh Dickinson, played less than an hour-and-a-half away from his hometown, Reynoldsburg and with an 84-61 win over Texas Southern, he’ll keep dancing in Ohio.
Meanwhile, Cleveland native Alonzo Gaffney made his NCAA tournament debut as well, in front of a strong contingent of family and friends who made the trip across the state to see him take the court.
As a longtime assistant coach at Reynoldsburg High School, Brian Strohm said he could tell there was something special about Moore from the work he put in on the court.
“He had a lot of potential but he had to realize it, you know,” he said. “There was a lot of pushing and stuff, trying to get him to play harder.”
Moore said he had some D-I interest, but ultimately, he committed to play for Coach Tobin Anderson at St. Thomas Aquinas in a D-II program. Then, when Anderson earned a spot as the head coach at FDU, he brought Moore and several other standout players with him to the D-I level.
“They knew what Sean could do, and they brought the best out in him and he really made the most of his opportunity,” Strohm said.
As a starter for most of the year, Moore was a team leader on defense, recording some of the most rebounds for FDU. Their NCAA Tournament berth marks the first time a first-year coach from FDU made it to March Madness.
“I ain’t think I was gonna be here today, so this moment is just surreal, like it happened so fast,” Moore said. “I’m just gonna take it moment by moment, enjoying this moment, hoping I can continue coming back for my next year playing college basketball.”
Gaffney’s journey to the NCAA tournament started in Cleveland, where he played for Garfield Heights before moving on to Brewster Academy in New Hampshire. A five-star recruit, he was an early commit to Ohio State, before he transferred to Arizona State to finish out his NCAA career.
“I’m just enjoying it trying to learn as much as I can along the way, and just help my teammates win as many games as possible,” he said.
In his first NCAA game as well, Gaffney said it’s a blessing to play so close to home.
“A lot of my family and friends are coming to the game, so I just want to do well,” he said.
Both players said knowing so many from home were coming to cheer them on and support their journeys gave them a sense of hope their “big dance” could continue.
“We know it’s survive and advance right now so we’re just thinking about the game ahead and trying to make it to the next steps,” Gaffney said.
FDU defeated Texas Southern 84-61 and ASU beat Nevada, 98-73.
FDU will play one-seed Purdue in Columbus on Friday at 6:50 p.m.
