Since the season ended there have been rumors that J.J. Moore would transfer. On its face it made little sense. Moore just finished his junior year. He did not graduate early so he couldn’t be a graduate transfer. If he left, he would have to sit out a year which seems flat-out odd for a kid heading into his senior year and only a year of eligibility left.

Yet the rumors and reports are getting stronger.

A report surfaced Sunday night that Pitt junior forward J.J. Moore has decided to transfer, but there was no official confirmation from the university.

An athletic department spokesperson said Moore has not yet asked for his release, and as of Sunday night, had not informed coach Jamie Dixon of a decision.

Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports Network reported via his Twitter account that Moore had decided to transfer per a source.

Nothing before or after that tweet. No follow up.

I still don’t know what to make of it. It seems as if it is becoming more likely, but he hasn’t officially asked to transfer.

Honestly, if he transferred it would probably be treated as a bigger deal because of how it would be read into the players, their relationship with Coach Jamie Dixon and questions of the style of play. Plus all the other losses from the offseason.

J.J. Moore, the player, has been long on potential and way short on actually delivering on the court.

When he came to Pitt, the early comparisons were to Gil Brown. Both for the physical similarities and game. Great athlete. Highlight reel ability to dunk. The flip side was that he also had a similarly maddening inconsistency on offense.

Even though he ostensibly moved to the power forward position, Moore’s numbers were quite similar from last year to this year:

Not much of a change. Slight improvements but nothing huge.

It was hoped that he would make something of a jump from last year to this. He was one of the players that seemed to be getting better by the end of the season. And, indeed he did start out strong. Unlike last year, his performance slightly declined during the season.

Not a huge drop, but it looks plateaued.

He would have some games that made you believe he would be a force on the offense — unfortunately they came against way overmatched teams like Fordham, Bethune-Cookman, Delaware St. and DePaul. Then he would disappear for games at a time. Shot not going. Jacking up the corner 3s rather than taking a clear path to the bucket. Despite being one of the team’s best free throw shooters he would not drive. In the final four games of the season, he did not get to the free throw line once.

Defensively he showed that same inconsistency. Games where he was playing soft defense or not rotating to help. Pure mental lapses. Then others where he would be in the midst of everything and taking those big charges at the right time.

Again, it coming down to the potential versus the actual delivery. It’s why Lamar Patterson was the starter at small forward (along with Patterson’s better passing and ball handling). There was no question that Moore had/has the higher ceiling. But on the court, in the games Patterson had better production and consistency.

What made it even more frustrating was that he cared. He cared about the team, he cared about winning. He loved the fans. That’s what made him all the more frustrating that his consistency never matched the effort.