Clearwater Tigers head to Hoosier state

When Zac Moore was named the head coach of the Clearwater Tigers in 2018, he knew he wanted to build camaraderie, even in the summer months.

While they didn’t travel his first summer at the helm, it did plant the seed for Moore to take his Tigers on the road.

Thus started Clearwater’s Division I college basketball team camp run where they have visited Ole Miss, Alabama, Oklahoma State and Marquette in recent years.

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This summer, Moore took his Tigers to Indiana to Purdue Fort Wayne to team camp with the Mastodons and run drills with the team and compete against teams they wouldn’t normally see, something Moore said was key in their summer trips.

Clearwater also made a stop in a gym that many hoops fans of a certain age will know.

“I knew that we wanted to stop by Knightstown, Indiana, which is where the movie ‘Hoosiers’ was filmed,” he said. “I wanted to give those kids that experience because that gym is still available to anybody to go in and use.”

Kingstown is the home the home of the Hickory Huskers. Also known as the Hoosier Gym.

The gym still plays host to games every year .

The Tigers even got to get some shots up in the historic gym.

For Moore, while it wasn’t his first time at the gym, it still meant something to him even though many of his players may not know of its significance.

“It’s a surreal moment to walk into the gym especially with the basketball history that was there,” he said. “And just to have the kids experience that. I think maybe the parents of the players probably have a little more nostalgia.”

The Tigers also got to visit historic Hinkle Fieldhouse, the home of the Butler Bulldogs in Indianapolis and the home of the infamous championship game in the movie.

Moore said there are a couple of reasons he makes the summer trips a priority with one being it shows the players what else is out there.

Clearwater even went to Memphis to the EYBL session.

“Hopefully you get some motivation by watching these guys go,” he said.

Moore has assisted with camps at Oak Hill Academy in Virginia, the prestigious school that’s home to countless NBA players and historic head coach Steve Smith.

Moore said he learned a lot from Smith and he uses it in what he coaches but he also got a lot from Smith from things he heard away from practice, something he also wants to pass on to his team.

Lastly, Moore said just the experience of getting away for a few days was good for his team. While some parents went, Moore said it left several of them to have to make decisions on their own. He said he wants them to not forget the places they can get with basketball.

“I always preach it to these kids, use basketball as a tool, you know,” he said. “It forms some relationships with people that you never thought possible and go to places you never thought possible. All because of a game of basketball.”