Villanova Wildcats: Jay Wright details how Kevin Durant set up call with Justin Moore

Villanova guard Justin Moore has a long way to go on his recovery from an Achilles injury, but he at least has one new supporter: Kevin Durant. After Moore suffered the injury in the waning minutes of an Elite Eight victory against Houston, the NBA star reached out to him to offer his advice.

Durant knows firsthand what the recovery process from an Achilles injury is like, as he too suffered an Achilles tear in the 2019 NBA Finals in his last season with Golden State. After sitting out the entire next season, Durant returned in 2020-21 as he made his debut with the Brooklyn Nets. His production didn’t dip, and he is still widely regarded as one of the league’s best players.

In a press conference prior to the Final Four, Villanova coach Jay Wright provided more context to the conversation both he and Justin Moore had with Kevin Durant.

“Kevin said, ‘I was watching that and it looked just like — I knew it when he went down it looked just like mine,'” Wright explained. “So we talked for a while about it, and what was so impressive to me was he said, ‘I’d like to talk to him, talk to the parents about the process. I want to tell him that’ — he listed himself, Klay Thompson, a couple other guys, I can’t remember — he goes, ‘Look, these guys had it in the NBA. And people in the NBA know now that you can come back from that. Earlier, before me, when that happened to you, NBA people thought you were done. But so many people have come back from that now, I want him to know that he’s not done and NBA people know that, too.'”

A junior from Fort Washington, Maryland, Moore was averaging 14.8 points, 4.8 rebounds and 2.3 assists per contest this year. He finished the Elite Eight game against Houston with eight points, two rebounds, a block and a steal in 37 minutes played. Without its star player, Villanova fell to Kansas in the Final Four on Saturday by a score of 81-65.

Recovery time from Achilles injuries can vary from anywhere from four months to a full year depending on the severity. Durant explained that when he spoke with Moore, also offering to let the Wildcats guard stay in touch with him throughout the process. With the offseason now having officially begun, Moore will get to work as he attempts to come back at full strength sometime in the near future.

“We talked about the process coming back, Wright said. “(Durant) said, ‘I’ll explain it to him. Anytime through his process he wants to use me, I’ll do it for him.’ So I said great, and I gave him Justin’s number and he Facetimed Justin. They had a great talk. Justin said it was really comforting to know and to know that he’s got him as kind of an advisor on his way through this.”