CHICAGO -- Cheerleaders greeted attendees. Sparky, the mascot, did what mascots do. Quiet discussions grew into a buzz eager with anticipation. Phrases such as “big day” and “new excitement” could be overheard in conversations.

 

And when it came time to meet the man for whom they’d come, suffice it to say that Howard Moore stood tall, even with the backdrop of the Chicago skyline.

 

Monday at the University of Illinois-Chicago‘s UIC Pavilion, Moore, the former assistant at his alma mater, the University of Wisconsin, was officially introduced as the new UIC head men’s basketball coach. He succeeds long-time coach Jimmy Collins, who retired in July.

 

Choking back tears, the 37-year-old Moore pronounced it his “dream job.”

 

Indeed, it is a neat story that says you can go home again. A graduate of Chicago’s Taft High School, he grew up just five minutes from the UIC campus.

 

“It means a lot to come home,” said Moore. “This is a tremendous situation and a tremendous opportunity and I owe a lot to the family and people who put me in this position. I’m proud to call myself a coach, a teacher and a Chicagoan.”

 

Vowing to assemble a program that will “win on the court, in the classroom, on the campus and in the community,” Moore promised to raise UIC back to the heights Collins achieved with three NCAA tournament bids.

 

“We’re going to grow something special that Chicago can be proud of,” he said. “This program will be the class of Chicago and the state of Illinois.

 

“When we fire the flames back up, it’s going to get hot.”

 

The UIC opening drew lots of attention. “Everybody had a guy (to recommend),” said UIC Athletics Director Jim Schmidt.

 

If first impressions mean anything, I’m betting that in Howard Moore, Schmidt got exactly the right one for that team, that university and that town.