The transition from high school to college basketball differs greatly from one player to the next. Some guys are able to maintain the same approach whereas others are forced to retool their entire game to make an impact. Fortunately for Shakeel Moore, he fits into the former way more than the latter. Though he was always regarded as an elite-level defender in high school, it's unclear if anyone could've predicted this type of unique defensive production'especially in the SEC. However, Moore has begun to make a legitimate case as the best defender in college basketball. Let's look at what makes him so special'

After playing his freshman season at NC State, Moore hit the transfer portal, went to another high-major program in Mississippi State, and has been a fan favorite ever since. He's been a useful contributor on both ends of the floor for the last three seasons, but who could've predicted his possible best season would be in a role off the bench' This season, Moore is posting nightly averages of 7.0 PPG, 3.1 RPG, 2.3 APG, and 2.5 SPG. While those numbers are pretty solid, it doesn't even begin to encompass his overall value. Moore currently leads the NCAA in steal percentage (7.5), defensive rating (74), and defensive box plus/minus (8.6). To put it in perspective, we looked at the number of players to have those numbers while at least playing 200 minutes over the course of a season. The list' Shakeel Moore.'

Not only is he the only player to post those numbers, but he's really the only guy even close. In order to even find others to compare, one would have to aggressively soften the parameters. Not even guys who came out of college and entered the NBA under the guise of being premier defenders (Davion Mitchell, Matisse Thybulle, etc.) show up on these qualifying lists. That being said, Moore has clearly taken a massive leap this season. His steal percentage and defensive box plus/minus have nearly doubled from last season while his defensive rating has also improved by an astronomical number. What he's doing is legitimately unprecedented. Either way, Moore is clearly having a noteworthy year defensively and should probably be receiving more attention from spectators, media members, and national outlets.