North Carolina Central men’s basketball coach LeVelle Moton says he once declined a million-dollar coaching offer because of a promise he made during a recruiting visit.
Speaking with HBCU Sports’ Chris Stevens, Moton said he has received significant interest throughout his tenure.
“You can’t refrain from the conversation. There’s no avoiding it. It’s the inevitable,” Moton said. “I think since I’ve been here, I’ve been offered maybe 15 or 20 jobs. Three NBA jobs.”
Moton then recalled a recruiting visit in which a prospect’s mother raised a concern about his name frequently appearing in coaching rumors.
“She said, ‘Listen, Coach, I want my child to play for you, but your name is always in some rumors of another school coming to get you. Can you promise me that if my son attends your university, you’ll watch over him for the next four years and you’ll be there?’” Moton said. “And I said, ‘I promise.’”
In the player’s third year at NCCU, Moton said a school made him a significant financial offer and imposed a short decision window.
“A school came and made me a million-dollar offer, and they told me I got 48 hours to respond,” he said. “And there was really no thinking about it. I just thought about that kid and his mother and what I looked her in the face and told her.”
Moton said the decision to remain at NCCU was immediate.
“I ain’t better than anybody else,” he said. “Where I’m from… we have a code of conduct and a moral and value system that I just don’t break for anyone.”
He added that honoring his word ultimately guided the outcome.
“I turned down the job simply because I made that promise to that boy and his mother. And I knew I wouldn’t be able to look in the mirror, look at myself, or look at them in the face if I promised him something sitting on their couch and just left,” Moton said. “I try to be a man of my word. I ain’t perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but that was pretty much it.”
Moton is currently in his 16th season as head coach at North Carolina Central, where he has led the Eagles to multiple Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference championships and NCAA tournament appearances since taking over the program in 2009.
According to publicly available salary data, Moton’s annual compensation is approximately $370,000.
The Eagles are currently 10-16 overall and 6-5 in MEAC play this season.
Moton said interest from other programs has been a consistent part of his career, but described such opportunities as part of the profession.
“Opportunities come, man,” he said. “That’s just part of it. It’s a blessing. It’s nothing to look at in a negative way.”
