Moore Likes What She Sees From Tide Newcomers
8/25/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
TUSCALOOSA -- When returning second team All-SEC guard Navonda Moore reported for the first day of fall classes at Alabama on Wednesday, she had a lot more to look forward to than just her class schedule. Moore also could anticipate the upcoming women’s basketball season, when she will play alongside the seven newcomers to the Tide program for the first time.
Indeed, the glow was evident on the face of the Jackson, Miss., native. The Tide’s leading returning scorer from a year ago, Moore will look to lead an exciting group of newcomers in 2006-07 to new heights in the second year of head coach Stephany Smith’s tenure.
Thankfully for the Tide, the groundwork for the season has already been laid after a summer full of hard work on and off the floor for the team.
After welcoming the seven newcomers to campus in early June, the Tide set to work in the weight room and on the floor. In addition to the physical skills the team improved, a chemistry has already begun to develop, thanks to the enthusiastic efforts of newcomers and veterans alike.
If the summer is any indication, the new crop of players joining Alabama this season are up to the task of helping along a rebuilding project set in motion at the end of the 2005-06 season.
“I met them earlier, but I really didn’t get to spend any time with them,” Moore said. “This summer was all about building chemistry off the floor and I have to say that coach brought in a great group of girls. These girls are great players. The first time I played with them I knew they were for real, all of them do different things, but they all can be great.”
Moore knows a thing or two about being a great player in the SEC. At the tail end of last year’s league schedule, Moore was nearly unstoppable. She poured in an impressive 19.2 points per game over her last nine outings while shooting nearly 45 percent from the floor.
More incredibly, Moore was able to post those numbers against some of the best teams in the nation. She torched Tennessee for 57 points in the two meetings with the Vols and added 20-point performances against Georgia and Kentucky as well.
But for Moore, those accomplishments are in the past. What is important to her, and to her new Tide teammates, is the attitude change that has taken over the squad over the summer.
“I can see that even though it’s early in the year, I can tell now that this team has already gotten so tight,” Moore said. “We go eat together, hang out with each other off the floor and call each other whenever. We are already clicking. I feel like now we have 11 people fighting for one cause instead of everyone looking out for number one.”
Undoubtedly, Moore and her upperclassmen teammates have had something to do with it. But for her, there’s no denying that Smith’s recruits have made an immediate impact in Tuscaloosa.
“They are good players, but to make it better, they are great people,” Moore said. “They are fun-loving, caring teammates that are not about individuality. They are about team, they like to compete and they work hard. They have pushed us this summer and we have pushed back and that has just made us all better.”
Those benefits do not go without obstacles, however. Moore, now a senior, has found herself in a new role: as a vocal leader for an unexperienced group of newcomers who have never played a minute of intercollegiate basketball.
“That’s a whole attitude change for me,” Moore said. “I’m trying really hard to do it, because it hasn’t always been one of my strong suits. I have my bad days, but luckily I have a group around me that can help pick me up, as I can help them try to manage the demands of being an athlete here. I am trying hard to be a vocal leader, which hasn’t been easy, because it doesn’t come naturally to me.”
Much remains for Moore and her new teammates to prove. No matter how talented her new teammates might be, none have proven their ability against the always tough SEC schedule. Obstacles must be overcome, adversity faced.
But for Moore and the Crimson Tide, it is clear that the beginnings of a new era are upon them. Hopefully, they will be able to continue the momentum that has been generated through a most productive summer.
Moore and her teammates will begin the season with the first official practice on October 13. The first preseason game will be held on October 31, with the season opener slated for November 10 against Samford.
