When Joe Alexander makes his debut with the Milwaukee Bucks next season, he will be the first former Mountaineer player to play in an NBA game in 25 years.

Lowes Moore, of Mount Vernon, N.Y., was the last WVU player in the NBA, playing for the San Diego Clippers in the 1982-1983 season. Moore returned to the Mountain State this weekend for the 15th West Virginia Senior Sports Classic in Charleston.

"It's been too long for a school of that quality like West Virginia," Moore said of WVU's NBA drought. "It couldn't have happened to a nicer person. A lot of guys have great game, but Alexander has the right attitude."

In the Senior Sports Classic, the 51-year-old Moore played with Joe Holland's basketball team, which went 2-0 in play at Capital High School Saturday. Moore was introduced to Holland, who played at University of Kentucky under Adolph Rupp, through former Mountaineer player Levi Phillips, who also played in the tournament. Phillips scored the first basket in the first game at the WVU Coliseum in December of 1970 in a 113-92 West Virginia victory over Colgate. 

"Levi told me about the tournament," Moore said. "And I got in contact with Joe. It's great to see these guys out there, still playing the game. When I get to the Boys and Girls Club in Mount Vernon, if I am not doing anything else for the first hour, I go to the gym to play."

Moore graduated from WVU in 1980. He is one of 11 Mountaineers to score over 1,600 points in his playing career. Moore famously scored 40 points against a Final Four-bound Notre Dame team in 1978, a game in which the Mountaineers lost 103-82 in South Bend.

"My time in West Virginia is a special memory," Moore said. "We drove in [Friday] and my plan was to go straight through to Charleston, but once we hit Morgantown we had to stop."

Moore was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame this year. 

"I play for the love of the game," Moore said. "There's something about that bounce, the swish, the smell that feels good. It's been a thrill to hear people today saying 'That's Lowes Moore.' It feels good to have had an impact.

When Joe Alexander makes his debut with the Milwaukee Bucks next season, he will be the first former Mountaineer player to play in an NBA game in 25 years.

Lowes Moore, of Mount Vernon, N.Y., was the last WVU player in the NBA, playing for the San Diego Clippers in the 1982-1983 season. Moore returned to the Mountain State this weekend for the 15th West Virginia Senior Sports Classic in Charleston.

"It's been too long for a school of that quality like West Virginia," Moore said of WVU's NBA drought. "It couldn't have happened to a nicer person. A lot of guys have great game, but Alexander has the right attitude."

In the Senior Sports Classic, the 51-year-old Moore played with Joe Holland's basketball team, which went 2-0 in play at Capital High School Saturday. Moore was introduced to Holland, who played at University of Kentucky under Adolph Rupp, through former Mountaineer player Levi Phillips, who also played in the tournament. Phillips scored the first basket in the first game at the WVU Coliseum in December of 1970 in a 113-92 West Virginia victory over Colgate. 

"Levi told me about the tournament," Moore said. "And I got in contact with Joe. It's great to see these guys out there, still playing the game. When I get to the Boys and Girls Club in Mount Vernon, if I am not doing anything else for the first hour, I go to the gym to play."

Moore graduated from WVU in 1980. He is one of 11 Mountaineers to score over 1,600 points in his playing career. Moore famously scored 40 points against a Final Four-bound Notre Dame team in 1978, a game in which the Mountaineers lost 103-82 in South Bend.

"My time in West Virginia is a special memory," Moore said. "We drove in [Friday] and my plan was to go straight through to Charleston, but once we hit Morgantown we had to stop."

Moore was inducted into the WVU Sports Hall of Fame this year. 

"I play for the love of the game," Moore said. "There's something about that bounce, the swish, the smell that feels good. It's been a thrill to hear people today saying 'That's Lowes Moore.' It feels good to have had an impact.

"This older woman came up to me the other day and said, 'I've been waiting for you for a long time.' She told me, 'Your greatness was in your humility.' It's great to be recognized as a great player, but even better to be recognized as a great person."

Moore played three seasons in the NBA. He was drafted by the New Jersey Nets in the third round in 1980, and after playing a full season with the Nets, he played parts of the 1981-1982 season with the Cleveland Cavaliers and the 1982-1983 season with the Clippers.

Moore signed with West Virginia out of Mount Vernon High School. He signed his letter of intent on a plane in Pittsburgh, after a high school all-star game.

"I was there in the Dapper Dan, what's now the McDonald's All-Star Classic," Moore said. "We were on a plane about to fly back and [former Mountaineers assistant] Coach Amick got them to stop the plane. It came back on the tarmac and I signed my letter of intent on the plane. I was a Knicks fan growing up, and I remember Jerry West hitting that 60-foot shot [West hit a 60-footer at the buzzer in Game 3 of the 1970 NBA Finals, which sent the game between the New York Knicks and West's Los Angeles Lakers into overtime]. I was thrilled to get a chance to go the same college as him."

Moore now serves as the director of the Mount Vernon Boys and Girls Club, a job he has held since 1993. Moore worked with and mentored former University of Connecticut standout and current Chicago Bulls guard Ben Gordon, who grew up in Mount Vernon.

"When I started in '93 we were serving 25 kids," Moore said. "Now, we serve over 1,700. It's been tremendous seeing it thriving and serving that many kids."

Moore feels his experience as a player has helped him in his career with the Boys and Girls Club.

"When I was 12, I went to the Mount Vernon Boys and Girls Club and a man there named Mr. Jones told us, 'The will to win is not nearly as important as preparing to win.' I've taken that approach in basketball and with the Boys and Girls Club."