43 All-Conference players, 21 professional players, 20 NCAA Tournament appearances, and 19 All-Americans, only scratches the surface of the rich history that encompasses the University of West Georgia Men's Basketball program. When the Wolves hired Dave Moore to be their head coach in 2018, the success that the program saw for so many years only continued.
Following three NCAA Tournament Appearances in the past five seasons, head coach Dave Moore enters his 8th year at the helm of the UWG Men’s Basketball program in the 2025-26 campaign, its second as an NCAA Division I member of the Atlantic Sun Conference.
The 2024–25 season marked West Georgia’s debut in the Division I, as head coach Dave Moore led the Wolves against a strong schedule that included SEC and ACC opponents, as well as three (3) NCAA Tournament teams. Forward Shelton Williams-Dryden led the Wolves in scoring and rebounding, earning ASUN Player & Newcomer of the Week honors. The Wolves picked up a 72–68 road win over Austin Peay. Williams-Dryden finished in the Top 3 in the Atlantic Sun in Points, Field Goal %, and Rebounding.
Coach Moore led the Wolves to one of the greatest seasons in school history in 2023-24, guiding UWG to a 27-6 record, a GSC Regular Season and Tournament Championship, and an appearance in the South Region Semifinal game for the second consecutive season. West Georgia's 27 wins ranks as the third most in UWG history. In those 27 wins, West Georgia won 20 of those game by double digits which ties the school record for most double-digit wins in a season. Under Moore's leadership, the Wolves were one of the best defensive teams in the country. West Georgia held opponents to a 39.6 shooting percentage which ranked fourth in the nation this season, while leading the Gulf South Conference in blocks per game with 3.9. After a historic season, Moore was awarded by being named the GSC and South District Coach of the Year, making him the first coach in UWG Men's Basketball history to be named the District Coach of the Year. Furthermore, Moore's point guard, Zawdie Jackson was named the GSC and South Region Player of the Year, making him the first player in school history to be named the Region Player of the Year.
In the 2022-23 season, Moore arguably had his best season at West Georgia as he propelled the Wolves to a 21-10 overall record. Within that season, UWG entered the GSC Tournament as a four-seed which stands as the highest seed in the Dave Moore era. The Wolves made a miraculous run to the GSC Championship game, by beating Valdosta State and number one seeded Alabama Huntsville before falling to West Alabama in the Championship game by two points. After reaching the Conference Championship game, UWG punched their ticket to the NCAA Tournament as the Wolves were selected as the five seed in the South Region and were set to face off against the Lee Flames in the South Region Quarterfinals. West Georgia handled Lee in the first round of the Tournament, setting up a meeting with the overall number one seed and #1 team in the country in Nova Southeastern. The Wolves fell to the Sharks in the South Region Semifinals, ending their campaign but the 2022-23 season marked the second time in three years that UWG advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Along with team success, individual accolades poured in for West Georgia, highlighted by Michael Zabetakis who was named to the GSC Top Ten, All-GSC, All-Region, All-Academic, All-District, and a Reese’s DII All-Star. Next to Zabetakis, Cole Fisher was named the recipient of the GSC Champion Scholar Athlete, which is given to the student-athlete with the highest cumulative GPA competing in the GSC Championships, while Zawdie Jackson, Tommaso Gini, Michael Griffin, J.J. Barnes, and Fisher were all named to the GSC Honor Roll under Moore’s Tutelage.
In the spring of 2021, Moore guided West Georgia basketball back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2017, finishing the abbreviated season 14-8. That campaign featured a 10-game winning streak, and saw the Wolves win their first game at an NCAA Regional in six years, defeating Valdosta State 79-75 on their home floor.
Moore coached Michael Zabetakis to a spot on the All-Gulf South Conference team as well as being named NABC All-District. Zabetakis was also named the recipient of the GSC Commissioner's Trophy given annually to the top male and female athletes across all sports in the conference.
The 2019-20 season marked Moore's second as head coach of UWG, and his squad competed in nearly every game throughout the season. Despite a 9-19 overall record, the Wolves finished second in the Gulf South Conference in points per game at 78.8 and steals per game at 7.4, along with finishing third in GSC offensive rebounds per game at 10.7.
Moore's second year leading the program also produced GSC Freshman of the Week Honors for Keshawn Heard and an All-GSC Second Team Selection for junior wing Seth Brown-Carter, as he led the Wolves in conference play by averaging 18.0 PPG, along with shooting 51% overall and 38.8% from 3-point range.
In his first season at the helm of the UWG program, Moore and the Wolves had a solid campaign, reaching the Gulf South Conference tournament as the sixth seed, which was the highest seeding for the Wolves since 2016. West Georgia finished at 17-12 overall in the first year under Moore, including a 12-8 record against Gulf South Conference competition.
Throughout his first season as Head Coach, Moore's team produced the GSC Player of the Week six times with senior Marquill Smith and the GSC Freshman of the Week twice with Jared Simmons. Smith had one of the most outstanding individual years in school history, leading the Gulf South Conference and ranking among the top-five nationally in scoring with 27.3 points per game. That scoring average was good for fifth all-time in a single season in the GSC and second at UWG. He finished his career averaging 25.2 points per game, which is good for third all-time in the Gulf South Conference.
At the conclusion of the season, Smith was named Gulf South Conference Player of the Year and First Team D2CCA All-Region. The accolades continued with the National Association of Basketball Coaches, as Smith was named First Team All-South District and as one of 16 All-Americans by the NABC. He began his professional career in the NBA G-League with the Miami Heat affiliate Sioux Falls Skyforce in 2019.
Moore came to Carrollton after 11 years as an assistant coach at St. Bonaventure University in Allegany, N.Y. His resume features 20 years of experience as an assistant coach in NCAA Divisions I, II and III basketball, as well as a short stint at the NAIA level.
In his last five years at St. Bonaventure, the Bonnies won at least 18 games in each season, culminating with a school-record 26 wins in 2017-18. That 26-win season includes a victory over the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in the First Four of the 2018 NCAA Tournament.
Credited as a passionate and detail-oriented assistant at St. Bonaventure, Moore was responsible for a consistent and successful player development program as well as taking on the opponent scouting duties during the season.
A true student of the game, Moore helped guide 24 players to sign professional contracts between St. Bonaventure and UWG, including Andrew Nicholson who was the 19th pick in the 2012 NBA Draft. Moore was integral in day-to-day game preparation as well as recruiting efforts that helped take a program from 15 wins in 2007-08 to 26 wins in 2017-18.
In addition to the professional contracts, Moore's impact in the player development at St. Bonaventure was shown through the individual accolades collected during his time with the Bonnies. In the 2007-2018 timeframe, players in the program amassed a multitude of awards: Atlantic-10 Player of the Year (2x), Atlantic-10 Freshman of the Year, Atlantic-10 6th Man of the Year, Atlantic-10 Most Improved of the Year, and All-Atlantic 10 Team Selection (14x). As a result, the Bonnies appeared in 2 NCAA Tournaments (2012 & 2018), earned a #1 seed in the NIT (2016), and won the Atlantic-10 Tournament (2012) and Regular Season (2016) titles.
Prior to his time at St. Bonaventure, Moore spent the 2006-07 season as an assistant at Division I Robert Morris University, where he managed skill development, scouting and recruiting. He also will fully understand the rigors of Gulf South Conference basketball, as Moore spent two seasons from 2000-02 on the staff at GSC rival Christian Brothers University, where he specialized in game preparation with film breakdown and scouting opponents.
Moore’s first collegiate basketball coaching experience came at his alma mater, Bethel College in McKenzie, Tenn., in the 1997-98 season. He moved into the NCAA ranks in 1998, taking an assistant coach position at the College of Mount Saint Joseph in Cincinnati, Ohio.
As a player, Moore was awarded a full athletic scholarship to play basketball at Bethel, where he played for four years. In the 1996-97 season, Moore was named a Scholar-Athlete by the TranSouth Conference. In that year, Moore was the team captain and led Bethel in assists. Moore graduated from Bethel in 1998 with a bachelor’s degree in history and a minor in secondary education. He received his master’s degree in education from Christian Brothers University in 2002. Moore and his wife Erica have two children, Gracie and Cooper.
Dave Moore Year-By-Year
| Year |
Overall |
Pct. |
GSC / ASUN |
Pct. |
| 2018-19 |
17-12 |
.586 |
12-8 |
.600 |
| 2019-20 |
9-19 |
.321 |
7-13 |
.350 |
| 2020-21 |
14-8 |
.636 |
12-6 |
.667 |
| 2021-22 |
15-13 |
.536 |
12-8 |
.600 |
| 2022-23 |
21-10 |
.678 |
17-7 |
.708 |
| 2023-24 |
27-6 |
.818 |
19-5 |
.792 |
| 2024-25* |
6-25 |
.194 |
4-14 |
.222 |
| Totals |
109-93 |
.540 |
84-61 |
.579 |
|
*First season competing in Division I and the ASUN conference.
Accolades under Dave Moore
UWG All-Americans
2024 Zawdie Jackson
2019 Marquill Smith
Turned Pro
Marquill Smith
Seth Brown-Carter
Michael Zabetakis
Kadeim Jones
Jalen Sasser
Camron Donatlan
NCAA Tournament Appearances
2021 South Regional Quarterfinals vs Valdosta State, W
2021 South Regional Semifinals vs Flagler, L
2023 South Regional Quarterfinals vs Lee, W
2023 South Regional Semifinals vs Nova Southeastern, L
2024 South Regional Quarterfinals vs Lee, W
2024 South Regional Semifinals vs Florida Southern, L (OT)
All-Region
2024 Zawdie Jackson
2024 Camron Donatlan
2023 Michael Zabetakis
2019 Marquill Smith
GSC Commissioner’s Trophy Winners
2020 Michael Zabetakis
UWG All-GSC
2024 Zawdie Jackson First Team
2024 Camron Donatlan First Team
2023 Michael
Zabetakis First Team
2022
Kadeim Jones Second Team
2021 Michael
Zabetakis First Team
2020 Seth Brown-Carter Second Team
2019
Marquill Smith First Team
