Menchville Hoops Coach Ben Moore Dies

One of the most respected basketball coaches in the state of Virginia passed away suddenly and tragically on Saturday.

Ben Moore, a longtime fixture in the Peninsula District at Warwick High School and Menchville High School in Newport News with a college coaching stint at Virginia Wesleyan sandwiched between, collapsed while giving a eulogy at the funeral for former Raiders player Jonquay Byrd. He was unable to be revived.

Moore coached as recently as Friday night in Menchville's game against Peninsula District rival Kecoughtan, which the Warriors won 49-45. Coaching Kecoughtan is Willie Gause, who followed Moore at Warwick when he left to become an assistant for three seasons at Virginia Wesleyan under Dave Macedo.

In 24 seasons at Warwick, Moore amassed 261 victories. This was his fourth year with the Monarchs and he got his 28th and final win on November 28th, ironically enough against Warwick, 81-68 in the opener.

Those wins were nice, but Moore's impact went deeper than them as his longtime friend Dennis Koutoufas stated.

"It's not the number of wins... it's the number of lives he touched," noted Koutoufas, who coached with and against Moore before ultimately retiring in 2004. Moore replaced him at Menchville.

Koutoufas got to know Moore in 1982 and they instantly hit it off, becoming best buddies.

"I coached the Warwick J.V. and he coached the Denbigh J.V. I got to be friends with him then," recalled Koutoufas, who won 438 games in his coaching career that included varsity stops at Denbigh, Heritage and Menchville in Newport News.

Prior to coming to Warwick in 1986, Moore served as an assistant under Koutoufas. Together, they heled guide Denbigh to back-to-back wins over a couple of teams led by future pros - Kempsville with J.R. Reid and Indian River featuring Alonzo Mourning - in the Eastern Region Tournament.

"So many coaches care about the stars. Ben cared about everybody," Koutoufas added.

"He was unique in that he treated the little guy as well as the big guy, or the star. That’s a hard thing to do. Not only that, he looked out for them. He went up and beyond all the coaches I know as far as their welfare. To me, the kids downtown treated him like a surrogate dad."

Byrd died on November 29th after being injured in a car crash a couple days earlier. Moore described him as a tenacious warrior and one of the quickest players he ever coached.

“I just find it ironic that outside of his family, the two best things he loved to do was coach basketball and do stuff for kids. He was doing both of them today," Koutoufas indicated.

"He had an early practice so he could give the Eulogy for one of his former players. I got a call from Earl Hester (one of Menchville's coaches) that he collapsed and then got another call about 20 minutes later that he passed."

In 1996, Moore gave up coaching for a season to become Warwick's Athletic Director. The very next season, he returned to the sidelines. He underwent triple bypass heart surgery in 2001, yet was on the bench come 2002-03 as the Raiders enjoyed a 19-4 season. That would go down as one of their best, only surpassed in victories by the 20-6 mark in 1990-91 and 20-5 finish in 2007-08.

Along with Nansemond River Head Coach Ed Young, Moore was a Co-Director for the Hampton Roads Fall Basketball League held at the Boo Williams Sportsplex. He also served as the brainchild for the Boo Williams Team Camp held annually in June.

An outpouring of support was shown on social media on Saturday as the news trickled in, many coming from current and past players as well as coaches around the Hampton Roads area.

"You could depend on him for anything. I mean anything. Not just basketball either. Whether it was words of wisdom, life values, you name it," said Green Run Head Basketball Coach Kenneth Harris commented of Moore.

"He was definitely a child of God. I guarantee there isn't one kid he coached who could say he didn't do anything for them. I'd do anything for that guy. I wish I could talk to him one more time. We lost a good one, but heaven gained a strong angel."

Ben Moore leaves behind his wife, Sharon, and two children; Candace and Chris, a current member of Longwood University's coaching staff.

Information on Ben's visitation and funeral can be found below...

UPDATE - This is a Facebook post from Ben's son, Chris Moore, from Thursday morning...

Celebration of Life Service and Details for Coach Benjamin O. Moore Jr.

Visitation: Thursday, Dec. 14th from 2-7 p.m. at Peninsula Funeral Home (11144 Warwick Blvd., Newport News, VA 23601; next to Warwick High School).The family will arrive at 5 p.m. to receive guests.

Service: Friday, Dec. 15th at 11:00 a.m. at Liberty Baptist Church (1021 Big Bethel Rd., Hampton, VA 23666).

A section will be reserved for Coach Moore's former and current basketball players (New York City, Denbigh High School, Warwick High School, Virginia Wesleyan, Menchville High School and AAU). The family is asking you to serve as honorary pallbearers.

Thank you for you care and concern for our family. Please keep us in prayer.

Matthew Hatfield serves as Publisher for VirginiaPreps.com, part of the Rivals.com Network, and is a regular contributor to the ACC Sports Journal. Check out Hatfield’s Twitter page for more sports related updates, and you can also read his work in the Suffolk News Herald. To contact Matthew, please e-mail hatfieldsports2k4@yahoo.com, and don’t forget to listen to him every Saturday at 10 AM to Noon on ESPN Radio 94.1.