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SUWANEE, Ga. -- There are parts to Maya Moore that cannot be explained by a made three-pointer or a rebound and putback in the lane.
These parts are the deep stuff. The stuff that special players do.
In an intense Collins Hill practice, a reserve gets squashed under the boards and falls. Moore is the first to move in to scoop the player off the ground and give a pat on the back.
The players are running suicides, and they want to go home. Coach Tracey Tipton won't let them leave until there is a correct answer to a sage, philosophical basketball question. One player takes a stab, air balls the answer, and the team continues to run.
Tipton tries again, her players out of gas at the end of practice. The question is about why adversity is a great teacher. The coach lets Moore answer, perhaps because the boys team is lining up on the sidelines waiting to use the court and Tipton has no choice but to end practice.
"Adversity gets you out of your comfort zone," Moore answers. "If you don't come out of your comfort zone, you stay the same."
Practice ends.
"No one believes me when I tell them how special that kid is," Tipton said. "They shake their heads and say, 'No way.' I'm telling you, she is too good to be true."
Moore won the Naismith Award as the best high school player in the country as a junior after leading Collins Hill to the Georgia Class 5A state championship and a 31-1 record last season. She was selected to USA TODAY's all-USA first team. She and Tennessee's Candace Parker are the only juniors to win it.
For now, the 6-foot Moore is the best bet to join Parker as the only girl to win the award twice.
In September, before official practice started, Tipton would come into the gym and Moore would be running suicides alone.
That is the essence of Moore, the best high school girls' player in the country, a University of Connecticut signee. She averaged 23 points and 11 rebounds a game last season for Collins Hill. Yet she considers herself an unfinished product.
"Maya makes a personal choice every day to make things difficult for herself in practice," Tipton said.
Moore can do it all. She is the center for Collins Hill, but there were several possessions where she rebounded and had a clear path to dribble to the other end to lead the fast break.
It was suggested she could lobby to be the Eagles' point guard on occasion.
"Coach doesn't need to hear me complaining about playing point guard," Moore said. "My team needs me to be the post, so I'm the post. That's where I fit."
Moore can fit anywhere on the court, and it is safe to say she will fit most anywhere on the UConn campus, too. She can handle the ball and slash from the wing. She can rebound and gets off her feet quick enough to block shots.
She is an honors student and wants to study communications, nutrition and perhaps sports management.
There are high school stars who go on treasure hunts to see what nice gym bag, CD or other gift they can receive from a sponsor. It is hard to envision Moore as an opportunist.
"When you look at things outside of yourself, you can get so much more out of the experience of playing sports," Moore said.
"When people get a big head, it is a sign they are about to fall. Once you lose your focus on how you got there, you are going to get off track. Make sure you keep somebody around to humble you."
Moore always has someone around to keep her humble -- herself.
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