January 26, 2008
Moor moors with the Spartans
There is no conventional. Some decide early, some later. It’s an idiosyncratic decision based on a myriad of personal values and concerns. No, we’re not talking marriage here but instead the selection of one from a cluster of college suitors. With St. Mary’s High (Berkeley) junior Aalim Moor, the choice has just been made.
Moor followed the path of other underclassmen who prefer to forgo the rigors of a long recruiting process
Most people welcome adulation and attention, celebrities especially thrive on it. With young basketballers, it comes in the form of letters, emails, phonecalls, sometimes even nods and winks, plus the usual face-to-face get-togethers. But such can also become wearing. There’s school homework to do, family functions to attend, breakfasts, lunches and dinners to hopefully consume uninterrupted -- call it life to live. But that’s not always easy when coaching staffs, not to mention those pesky scouting services, play the role of roundball paparazzi.
With Moor, the attention was nice but reaching the point of becoming stressful. That, plus a growing appreciation of a longtime admirer turned the trick. "I was talking with a lot of colleges, hearing great things about each but I felt it was time to make my decision," Moor said. "So I decided to commit to San Jose State."
According to Moor, "They showed the most interest, showed it the earliest and heading there is the best situation for me."
It didn’t hurt that Coach George Nessman just signed former Modesto Christian High star and ex-University of Washignton player Adrian Oliver. "Adrian was like a mentor to me when we were both younger" offered Moor, now 6-foot-3 and 185 pounds but still growing.
Plus, hitting the trifecta, San Jose State offers a sports management major, a direction Moor wants to head upon entering college.
It was ultimately Moor’s decision to make but he utilized his family as a sounding board. His father stressed "be happy with whatever decision you make and do it when you are ready."
Other colleges in the running were Pacific, Santa Clara, Utah, Pepperdine and others. Moor made it a point to call and inform the coaches of the various also-rans once he got off the phone with San Jose State.
Grades are of no concern for Moor, coming from a family of college graduates and a solid grounding in the importance of academics and learning.
Besides his parents, Moor also expressed thanks and gratitude to his high school coach, Manny Nodar, and club coaches Carl Foster and Mark Olivier "for all they have done in helping with my development."
Now he can focus on working with his St. Mary’s teammates in achieving a league title -- with valid hopes of extending beyond that -- then a summer with the Oakland Soldiers I club and finally a senior year, prior to heading down Highway 880 and playing the point for San Jose State.