CHICAGO _ From the time he was a 4-year-old pipsqueak, Charlie Moore could be found in the family's Englewood backyard with a basketball and his dad.
Looking back, Moore doesn't call it playing. He recalls those countless hours as "workouts."
He would dribble down the rutted alley, and his father, Curtis, never fully satisfied, would have him repeat the drill with two balls to improve his ambidexterity. His older brothers never allowed an easy layup.
"The player I am now is from starting young," Moore said. "(My dad) helped me a whole lot. I give most of the credit to him. I enjoyed working out and getting better and playing basketball. I could see I was getting better, but they kept pushing me."
The sport eventually took Moore to the West Coast for a year at California and then to Kansas for two more seasons. Now the dynamic point guard is back in his hometown, helping spark DePaul's resurgent season.
And now he's the one putting his dad through drills as Curtis continues to recover from a debilitating stroke.
"I (ask), 'You been working hard?' " said Moore, a 5-foot-11 junior. "I let him know I'm checking on him."
After transferring from Kansas in April, Moore gained immediate eligibility shortly before the season through an NCAA family hardship waiver _ an often unpredictable process.
While Curtis' condition has improved through the years since he suffered the stroke in 2015, Charlie wanted to help ease the load on his mother, Tanya, and provide support to his father.
Wearing a Blue Demons winter hat, Curtis watches his son's games from his wheelchair in the second level of Wintrust Arena behind the team bench. After the Blue Demons upset then-No. 5 Butler on Saturday, Charlie beamed as he greeted his dad in the arena lobby.
"That's what keeps me going," Curtis said of watching Charlie play. "I know I get to see him. He's always asking: 'How are you feeling? Are you all right?' Recovery is an everyday process right now. This is the hardest thing I've done in my life. I'm never going to give up, though."
Moore has been a catalyst for DePaul (13-6, 1-5 Big East), which went 12-1 in nonconference play with road wins at Iowa and Minnesota and a home victory against Texas Tech, last season's national runner-up.
An 0-4 start in the rugged Big East included narrow losses to ranked opponents Seton Hall and Villanova (in overtime), and the 79-66 upset of Butler was a head-turning resume builder. Moore led DePaul with 16.1 points and 6.8 assists per game entering Wednesday's 83-68 loss to Creighton (15-5, 4-3). He scored 13 points and handed out seven assists Wednesday.
"It means a lot getting an opportunity, and I'm trying to take advantage," he said. "I thank God every day for being here in this position."
