DeKalb High School coach jump-starts youth basketball academy

DeKALB – It’s been more than 20 years since Jay Moore’s prep sports days, when he won a championship while playing for Gary Westside High School.

He said he is proud of what he’s accomplished on the court, but he doesn’t get caught up in the accolades.

These days, the DeKalb High School coach from Gary, Indiana, said he is more interested in fostering the talents of the next generation of hoopers.

“The guys keep me young,” Moore said. “I’m still close to the game. I’m still coaching. I’m still running camps. It keeps you close to the game. My players remind me all the time.”

In January, Moore founded TRUTH Basketball Academy, an umbrella organization for youth encompassing a P3 (AAU) program and skills training sessions for both boys and girls. It has grown, with programming expanding its reach from the DeKalb area to as far east as Aurora and Naperville.

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Jay Moore, founder of TRUTH Basketball Academy and an assistant basketball coach at DeKalb High School, plays defense against Gabe Crump, 15, from DeKalb, during a drill Tuesday, June 25, 2024, during a session at the school. (Mark Busch)

TRUTH Basketball Academy unites teens from DeKalb, Cortland and surrounding counties to help them hone in on their talent as a collective.

As a DeKalb resident, Moore said he is proud of himself knowing that he’s created a path for young people by launching the basketball academy.

“Giving back to my community, it’s almost like paying it forward and thinking that was done for me,” he said. “[It’s] giving people an outlet for this community. They don’t have to go east of here to other places and spend ‘X’ amount of dollars when they can get that same experience right down the street in their own community.”

Cortland resident Reagan McPheters, 12, said the basketball academy’s skills training program has been a big help in working toward her goals.

The guys keep me young. I’m still close to the game. I’m still coaching. I’m still running camps. It keeps you close to the game. My players remind me all the time.”

—  Jay Moore, TRUTH Basketball Academy founder

Reagan is a two-sport athlete who plays on travel teams for basketball and soccer.

“I want to get better as an athlete,” Reagan said, “not just for basketball, like better conditioning.”

Reagan’s mother, Tiffany McPheters, said she is proud of her daughter and how she’s progressed under the tutelage of Moore’s mentorship at TRUTH Basketball Academy.

“I just want to see her continue to grow as an athlete,” McPheters said.

Moore credits social media and word of mouth for the exponential growth of the basketball academy.

At TRUTH Basketball Academy, youth have had the opportunity to meet some professional players who are training, he said.

Moore said people generally gravitate toward the basketball academy and what’s offered.

“We want to make sure that we’re different than everybody else,” Moore said. “There’s a lot of other training [programs] that are out east as far as like [the] Aurora-Naperville area. They’re all cookie-cutter. They do one [method] for all [ages]. I think with us at TRUTH, what sets us apart is that you get that one-on-one training. It’s specified for each athlete, it’s not cookie-cutter. My pro athletes don’t do the same thing as my high school players. My high school players don’t do the same thing as my little kids. We try to make everything individualized.”

During a given training session, an individual may be working on shooting or ballhandling. Some other days, they might work on counter moves or playing off the dribble.

Plainfield resident Jennifer Vai said she likes how Moore individualizes programming at the academy to meet each individual’s needs.

Vai’s son, Lucas Alvarez, is part of the P3 (AAU) team and skills training program at TRUTH.

“He instills more confidence into my child, improves the game and just him as a coach personally, he puts everything into the kids to see them excel as best as possible and takes a personal approach with them,” Vai said.

DeKalb resident Alex Streb, 17, said having Moore as his coach has been beneficial for him.

Streb is one of the members of the P3 (AAU) team based out of Naperville.

“He gets the most out of us,” Streb said. “He pushes us to our max level. We do a lot of ballhandling, a lot of shooting, a lot just to get better. But he pushes the most out of us. We go to a high level, and we get a lot better because of it.”

The P3 (AAU) team has competed almost every weekend since the start of April and has taken its talents on the road to various places such as St. Louis, Indianapolis and Wisconsin.

Alex’s father, Matt Streb, heaped praise on Moore for what he’s done for his son.

“He teaches the boys a heck of a lot about basketball, but he really is much more than a basketball coach,” Matt Streb said. “He’s a mentor, and he works really, really closely with the boys to get to know the boys. He cares about them as people. He holds them accountable. He gives them tough love when they need tough love. He’s also incredibly supportive of the boys.”

Moore enjoys giving youth exposure to real opportunities to compete against others.

“I kind of feel obligated to,” Moore said. “I grew up in Gary, Indiana, and that’s probably not the nicest place to grow up. It’s an urban area. I know that I wouldn’t be sitting in the position that I am if it weren’t for my coaches and my community pouring into me. So I just feel obligated to give back to young people because it was poured into me.”

Moore said he believes the basketball academy is positioned well for success.

“We’re excited about where we are,” Moore said. “We’re excited about where we’re going.”