October 30, 2007
Moor fulfilling the heritage
Some athletes shy away from leadership roles and pressure-packed positions for a variety of reasons. Not wanting the seemingly weighty burden, or responsibility of making something positive happen in the last seconds of a close game and even possessing an introverted personality are among them. That isn’t the case with Aalim Moor.
Aalim Moor
He sees it all as just part of the game. His game.
"My teammates respect what I am trying to do and vice versa. One of the keys is not getting frustrated when things aren’t going your way and keeping everybody calm," Moor offered recently. "This summer [after completing his sophomore year] I was a bit more vocal than I’ve been before."
When asked why he ended up as a point rather than the two guard, Moor replied, "When I was younger, I was more of a combo guard but began transitioning to the point in the ninth grade. It just felt natural and now I’m comfortable with it. Being at the point is a little more pressure but I don’t let it affect me."
It’s been his role to keep his teammates happy, involved and focused on the court both at St. Mary’s High in Berkeley and the Oakland Soldiers II squad and he has worn the mantle well.
Scouts agree that Moor displays the foremost trait that’s a prerequisite for anyone quarterbacking a team. That is, making teammates better--more effective--by knowing their likes and dislikes, their strengths and weaknesses and getting the ball to them in their comfort zones.
Moor displayed his skills at the RBK Breakout Underclass Camp
Moor analyzes his current game this way: "My passing, defense and leadership are my best skills" although he also offers "I’m always working on my jumpshot and my ballhandling, trying to make them better."
Moor first got the inkling he possessed Division I college basketball potential--the transition of dream to reality--at the beginning of his sophomore year. That was confirmed when San Jose State offered him when the school year concluded.
His cites Jason Kidd as his biggest basketball player influence because of the desire, persistence and will to win Kidd demonstrates on the court and what he provides for his team and does for his teammates. But Gary Payton and Brian Shaw are also right up there, as Moor has purposely learned from them all. He faithfully attended Shaw’s summer basketball camp and has consciously incorporated the tenaciousness and the leadership that each of these professionals have amply demonstrated. Most recently, it’s been Quentin Thomas, now a senior at North Carolina, as Moor’s role model.
There is a running thread throughout, one binding everything together--Moor’s pride in representing Oakland, especially east Oakland, and his desire to continue the Kidd/Payton/Shaw/Thomas tradition of leadership, of influence and of giving back.
But he also quickly noted "my father" as a basketball influence because "he has always been there for me and is my number one supporter."
Moor and Brian Shaw in 2001
Besides family, Moor also wanted to credit his St. Mary’s coach Manny Nodar, plus Carl Foster and Mark Olivier, the latter two affiliated with the Oakland Soldiers organization. "Coach Nodar has always believed in me and brought me up early to the varsity at St. Mary’s to get me experience. Carl Foster always has good advice for me and Mark Olivier challenges and encourages me to do better." Such offerings aren’t unexpected from someone with the mantra of "stay humble and stay hungry."
Moor has earned a 3.1/3.2 grade point average to date and is pushing to raise it to 3.3/3.4 so there will be no issue regarding collegiate academic eligibility.
Like everyone else, Moor wants to continue playing after college but will be focusing on business and sports management in college, with becoming a sports agent as his fallback position.
His cousins, Chris and Will Brew, have already committed to UC Santa Barbara. Now Moor is entering the very same recruiting process, having already taken unofficial visits to Pacific, St. Mary’s, San Jose State, Cal State Northridge and Pepperdine, with an upcoming visit to UC Davis. Schools requesting transcripts and sending correspondence include Stanford, Oregon, USC, Utah, Colorado State and Penn.
What he is looking for is a playing style that "gets up and down the floor, sort of a controlled chaos but with a play-running structure when the break isn’t there." As for a college coach, Moor wants "a coach I can relate to, but not a buddy type, rather one I can be friends with but who is running the show."
A conductor doesn’t control, he leads and sets up others to shine. Some consider this quite the millstone, a burdensome load.
Not Aalim Moor. For him, it’s stepping up and fulfilling a tradition.