The Nova Notebook Summer Series returns with a look at Justin Moore, now two months into the recovery from a devastating achilles tendon tear suffered in an NCAA Regional Final victory over Houston in March.
 
                When recuperating from major surgery, milestones are often measured in small steps. For Justin Moore, nine weeks removed from surgery to repair the tendon tear in his right leg, one such moment passed recently.
 
                "I'm finally out of the (walking) boot," he says with a wry smile while seated on an athletic training table inside the Davis Center. "I am able to wear regular shoes, so it feels good to be moving around again."
 
                Unfortunately, this isn't Moore's first encounter with the arduous process of recovery from a major injury. As a sophomore at DeMatha High School, the 6-4 guard who was named second team All-BIG EAST and first team All-Philadelphia Big Five for his efforts in 2021-22, suffered a torn ACL in his knee, forcing him into a prolonged rehab.
 
                "It's kind of the same," states Moore. "I know God has a plan for me. I'm just being patient with it, not rushing. The time will come. I don't want to rush back too soon from this injury. I'm taking it day by day."
 
                For someone who cherishes the game the way this Fort Washington, Md., native does, that isn't always easy.
 
                "I'm always thinking about the next season," Moore notes, "and it's kind of the people around me, my family, that brings me back to reality about what's really important. I can't worry about the first practice coming in October or the first game in November. My time's going to come.
 
                "I know my guys are going to be ready to go if I'm not ready. I'm not rushing this. I just live in the moment so that I can take this day by day."
 
                Moore concedes that the immediate aftermath of the injury was a blur. In the span of one play he went from helping to close out a gritty 50-44 win over the Cougars that would take his team to the NCAA Final Four to processing the impact of an injury whose recovery is measured in months. In the span of five days, he underwent surgery, acclimated himself to crutches and then a knee walker medical scooter, and flew to New Orleans to be with his teammates for their Final Four matchup with Kansas.
 
                "It took me a while (to process)," states Moore. "Even when I made the trip to the Final Four I was still in shock about what had happened. It took me until after we got back from the Final Four and I went home to my family before I could sit down and think about it. I was able to think back to my career so far and this past year was a great one.
 
                "I'm not going to look down on this (2021-22) year with the way it ended for me."
 
                The fact that Moore's injury occurred in the glare of a regional final elicited sympathetic reactions from around the nation. Most notable among them was when Kevin Durant, another native of Maryland, reached out to Moore.
 
                "I've gotten tons of good advice from family, NBA guys like KD, and even NBA coaches," stated Moore.
 
                Durant – who suffered an achilles tendon tear of his own in the NBA Finals while playing for Golden State in 2019 – shared a lengthy FaceTime conversation with Moore not long after the Wildcats returned from San Antonio. Moore says Durant offered to be a resource as he goes through his recovery.
 
                "KD told me, this is not an injury where your career is over," says Moore. "Years ago, players might have been done when they had this injury. But now, guys come back from this all the time. As I go through this process, I am going to keep reaching out to KD."
 
                These days Moore's spends a good bit of time with Villanova Strength Coach John Shackleton and Head Athletic Trainer Dan Erickson. While most of his teammates headed home at the conclusion of exams in early May, Moore spent much of the month on campus to continue his rehab alongside Jordan Longino, recovering from a knee injury that prematurely ended his 2021-22 after the BIG EAST Tournament.
 
                "I'm getting better," Moore states. "Shack and Dan do a great job. They make sure it's not boring. Dan is always talking to me, making jokes, and when you're in the weight room, you're getting hard work in with Shack. It's great to be here with a group of guys who always keep me uplifted."
 
                Of course, March's injury wasn't the only change for Moore to absorb. Wildcats' head coach Jay Wright announced his retirement from coaching on April 20 to become a Special Assistant to University President Rev. Peter M. Donohue, O.S.A. Kyle Neptune, a Villanova assistant coach for 10 seasons that included the first two years of Moore's Nova tenure, returned to assume the head coaching reins after orchestrating a turnaround season at Fordham in 2021-22.
 
                "It's been pretty smooth," notes Moore. "He's building relationships with everyone on the team. He's been doing a great job, going to lunch with us and just talking, not only about basketball, but how things are going for us."
 
                As a returning captain, Moore's voice will carry extra resonance in 2022-23. So too will those of fellow veterans Brandon Slater and Caleb Daniels as the trio looks to fill the leadership void created by the departures of stalwarts Collin Gillespie and Jermaine Samuels.
 
                "Those guys have been here for a while," says Moore of Daniels and Slater. "We're all close to one another. I came in with Caleb after he transferred (from Tulane). I've known Slate since we were little. They've been through their own challenges here to get to where they are now. We've come together as one and we'll be able to lead this team."
 
                Moore has kept tabs on his pals Gillespie and Samuels as they have gone through the process of pursuing their own NBA dreams this spring.
 
                "I talk to them pretty much every day," he says. "I watched Jermaine at the G League combine and talked to him about the experience. I've been talking to Collin and watched him at the combine. I'm just talking to them, pushing them and try to uplift them."
 
                It is natural, of course, for Moore to wonder about his own journey. Had not the injury occurred, he could well have been following that same path his former co-captains have already embarked upon with a decision to be made about returning for his senior season. But Moore's maturity, family and faith have helped him set aside the what ifs to confront what is. And he believes in the long term this setback has fostered in him an added layer of resiliency that will serve him well moving forward.
 
                "I think this injury keeps me levelheaded," he says. "I know the ball can stop at any time. This just reminds you how grateful I am to play this game and also to push myself, knowing I can come back and perform at the high level I did before."