Who will be that crazy dope women’s b-baller in the Pac-12 this year?
True fans are already knowing about Washington’s Amber Melgoza, and her 20-25 ppg scoring spree season of last year’s conference playoff destruction. WNBA scouts are waiting to see if Oregon’s Sabrina Ionescu has the chops to be the first pick when all the dust settles.
But which player is a must see because she has that exciting “x“ factor going into the Pac-12 season? It has to be that sublime transfer from Louisville: USC’s Mariya Moore.
If we asked rapper YG about M-Moore, dude might tell you, as his song Big Bank goes:
“Feed me to the wolves now I lead the pack and ish.”
Will she light up the Pac-12 conference like big Vegas neon style lights? I wouldn’t bet against it. As of now, December 2nd, USC is winning the most games in the Pac-12.
“Love.” That word describes the feeling that M-Moore has inside for her parents Cenne and Errol, and her lil sis Minyon, as she plays her senior year at USC.
Her folks who live in Hercules, near San Francisco, will be able to see their precious daughters ball out this season.
Not many NCAA women’s players have helped put their team on their back to get to the Sweet 16 like Mariya did in combining with Asia Durr to uplift their Louisville squad, which accomplished that a couple years ago.
My advice to her comp? You better start calling her Mariya “get your grill up on that girl” Moore, because she’s a woman that can flat out ball.
To what extent? These last 3 years she has been on the Naismith player of the year watch list, putting up 15 ppg for her peeps at The Ville.
This year? She is doing everything her squad needs to win and I predict she’ll pick up her scoring to 20 pg come playoff time, because this girl has an arsenal of moves that comes at you like an Apache 64 helicopter: jab step 2 points from 15 feet out, wap, 3 ball heat seeker tomahawk on you fam, from deep.
She’s like wham, bam tied you up fouling her J-Harden style as she converts the “extra point ma’am.”
It’ll be a daunting task for defenses to get with Mariya, that’s why I’m planning to see as many of her games at USC this year as I can.
Real talk? I haven’t been so excited to watch hoops at USC since 2007 when 2 kids I was close to, Nick “Swaggy P” Young and Gabe Pruitt took the Trojans to the Sweet 16, the year before both my guys turned pro.
Mariya could very well have it like that, she could help repeat that level of success of a sweet 16 for her Trojan sisters, you can tell she loves them so much.
Mariya speaks with such electric ambition to combine with all her teammates this year, especially her lil sister Minyon Moore, that 5-8 fireball junior pg who last year averaged 13.2 points, 4.0 rebounds, 5.3 assists and 2.9 a game, nearly USC records for single season assists dished out, and minutes played.
These sisters will combine with super freshman Jillian Archer to do work.
If you talk to Mariya enough like I have, I felt true sincerity in Mariya’s voice as she explained to me why she cherishes this upcoming season, “We feel our USC team has grit. We’ll grind it out with everyone in conference play. We’ll battle to earn people’s respect, surpass the expectations others have given us.
”Because we feel each other’s games, feed off each other’s energy. Anything is possible when you’re playing with fam. We ride or die with each other. It’s our year, my final season of college play so we’ll leave it all on the floor, seeking a conference title and more.
“That must be our mission going into 2019. Our coach Mark, he cares for us all as people, not just as ball players. All the coaches have us locked in to make that run. Believing in ourselves, we’re all hyped up for the season to begin.”
E-Woods, besides just being a writer I’ve been a teacher of lil kids for decades. I used to teach at Weemes Elementary, located on 36th and Vermont in south LA, a mere 500 feet from the USC campus in the mid 90’s.
To all my beautiful 4th grade Nubian princes and princesses coming to class back then I’d give them this advice. I’d tell them to be classy, never compromise your integrity or settle. Follow your dreams.
I’d remind them and show old video of the beautiful people I encouraged them to become, powerful ballers like Lisa Leslie and Cheryl Miller. I’d tell my students that those ladies created their own legends for themselves across the street from us at USC.
I’d challenge them to look out the class windows, don’t just see those gleaming buildings with your eyes. Imagine in your brain that USC will be your next classroom in a few years because “the world is yours if you want it bad enough” to study and play sports for a college like USC.
How can you be so confident in Mariya Moore, E-Woods? Aren’t there nearly a 1/2 dozen Pac-12 women’s teams that are nearly ranked top 10 nationally right now?
Yup, that’s true, but look into M-Moore’s eyes, see that she trained hard this past summer in LA with her girl Marina Mabrey from Notre Dame, WNBA player Imani McGee, and NBA Clipper Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, who all went hard at refining skills alongside Mariya.
Even UCLA’s Kris Wilkes was there too, all of them grindin’ their games, ballin’ and training together, guided by their trainer Olin Simplis. That dude is the hoops guru that pumps out pro players like Imani McGee, Spencer Dinwiddie, and Monique Billings.
O-Simplis? Dude is like a mad scientist in the lab. Frankenstein-ing Mariya has been a labor of love for him, as he shares about her, “I think Mariya will have a monster season for USC this year.
“She had a lot of classes to catch up on in her junior and senior year that didn’t transfer from Louisville but if she gets back in that groove from being off a year, watch out, she is skilled and capable of really big things in college hoops.
“If Mariya stays grinding like crazy, she’ll be an elite match up problem for her competition to contend with indeed.”
That’s the gauntlet in front of her, get in groove and lead. M-Moore is poised to be that player that catches fire, gets her program hot, and then all bets are off, possibly off the chain time come March Madness.
Draftsite.com has Mariya projected as a top 20-ish selection. But they must not know she been working it proper, see the vid of her throwing medicine balls around like it’s nothing:
https://www.draftsite.com/wnba/mock-draft/2019/
Why is Mariya so special? She possess such a powerful brand, adorable and light hearted in personality, with uplifting mannerisms. It’s easy to tell when looking into her eyes, you can tell she’s locked into life, in all its beauty and challenges.
Mariya’s game on court is certainly savage, always beastin’ the comp. She doesn’t know how to play soft or half effort.
My buddy “J” from the NBA says Mariya is the dopest woman he’ll be looking forward to seeing ball in the Pac-12. He loves her game and the way she carries herself. He thinks Mariya is as appealing to watch play as singer icon SZA is when she sings.
J told me Mariya is more dope to watch than SZA’s video Love Galore, maybe we’ll have to start calling M-Moore, “basketball galore.”
It’s fitting that Mariya’s fav tune is 21 Savage’s No Heart. It’s filled with imagery which is sublimely gangsta, in a cool way. The song reminds me that Mariya is that dope girl who is intent on bringing that fire to the Pac-12 in 2019’. These lyrics do her justice:
“So much dope that it broke the scale...
You was with your friends playing Nintendo, I was playin' 'round with that fire.”
#Mariya has the fire
Who is M-Moore’s fav baller? I’ll let her explain why she enjoys this particular player, “I love the way LeBron James dominates everything in a game. He takes the game seriously but seems like he’s also having lots of fun as well.
“That’s pretty awesome. I try to emulate that same approach, give it my all in a game to impact a game, yet enjoy the game like he does.”
I remember taking to LeBron’s AAU coach, Oakland Soldier’s Mark Olivier, back in the day. He happens to be from Hercules, Ca like Mariya is. He told me how LeBron would live up to his “King” nickname because he has so much drive.
Will Mariya be “The Queen” of LA ballers this year? What are the odds that #4 will capture the hearts of LA’s hoops fans like Candice Parker has?
Mariya’s chances are as big as her pretty almond eyes, she’s that hotness on court you need to see, she leaves it all out there.
I’ll never forget the time I showed Mariya my story on last year’s queen of college hoops: Jordan Canada, from rival UCLA. She went #3 overall in the 18’ WNBA draft.
I titled Jordan’s story, Lady Killer, as I tried to remind everyone Jordan was unstoppable.
Mariya? She read it right off my phone in front of me. I wanted to see her reaction to my craft.
She laughed in a cool way as she told me, “You wrote down that Jordan is running ish.” I told Mariya, so many believe in you, I believe in you. 100. It’s your turn to be unstoppable. Jordan was running ish in LA last year. It’s your turn to be fed to the Pac, then run their “ish” and lead em all in 19’.
Mariya just humbly smiled and gave me this unforgettable look, that same look she’ll most definitely share with college hoops that says, “I got this.”
