Temple University Athletics
Moore's Leadership Helps Owls to Another Win
2.8.12 | Men's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA -- Down by 12 points at the half, Ramone Moore ushered a dejected Temple team through the tunnel where they awaited a tirade by head coach Fran Dunphy.
It never came.
Instead, there was silence.
“Everyone knew what was expected in the second half,” Moore said of the hush that fell over the Owls locker room.
Even though until that point, the A-10's top scorer had contributed a team-high eight of Temple's 29 points, he decided his contribution still wasn't enough. So he did what he has done so well throughout the majority of the season and hefted the team's struggles upon his back with nary a complaint.
Quietly and efficiently, Moore stealthily drained 17 second-half points, including a three-pointer with 2:45 remaining g that gave the Owls the lead for good, in a 79-72 win over George Washington. And if that wasn't enough, he threw his lean body around the court on the defensive end with reckless abandon, hoping to incite his teammates to play more solid defense. His 25 points were a game high, but you'd hardly know it unless you looked at the box score.
And that's the way he likes it.
“I'm not a personal guy,” he said. “I'm team-oriented.”
It's not simply a role that he plays on the hardwood, though that is where his leadership skills are most obvious.
He had an opportunity to hone those leadership skills during his freshman year watching the action on the hardwood from the sidelines while he adjusted to the collegiate workload. It was there that he gleaned advice from his predecessors.
“My first two years at Temple were tough,” Moore said. “But I was close with a lot of the older guys -- Chris Clark and Mark Tyndale especially -- who told me to just be patient and know that my time would come.”
“I'm just trying to be the same leader that they were,” he said of his mentors.
Except he's adapted to that role, and tailored it to his team's needs.
He may not be the loudest player of Temple's backcourt trio (Juan Fernandez), or the most animated (Khalif Wyatt), but he is the most veteran and that carries a lot of weight with his teammates.
“Ramone is our vocal leader,” said Wyatt who, ranks second to Moore in the A-10 scoring race. “He's the guy that we look to when we need guidance. He's been through everything that a player could go through here at Temple. He's a great leader. He has taken that role and has run with it.”
“Those two [Wyatt, Fernandez] have different styles than I do. I'm more outspoken,” Moore said of his leadership style. “I like to show how to lead, but also walk guys through it. Juan and Khalif like to show the guys more than I do.”
For someone who would rather “tell” than “show”, Moore has posted impressive numbers this season -- a season where he was named to the A-10's first team all-league in preseason. To name just one, the 23-year-old is riding a streak in which he has posted double-figures in scoring in the team's last 16 games.
But according to Moore, it's not about that. He defers that success to his teammates' willingness to put the ball in his hands, to putting him in a position to score points.
It's about giving back to some of his younger teammates -- to building their confidence and chaperoning them as they evolve into their roles -- so that Temple's legacy of success may continue, even in his absence.
It's something he's tried to do as much as possible, particularly in Aaron Brown, who Moore has taken under his wing after seeing similarities in their roles. Both were invaluable off the bench in their sophomore campaigns, contributing quality minutes when asked to perform in difficult situations.
That was the season that Moore was named the A-10 Sixth Man of the Year. Under the careful tutelage of Moore, Brown is building a convincing case for the same honor.
“We're like brothers,” Moore said of his relationship with Brown both on and off the court. “We do everything together. He comes to my house to eat dinner. We go to Sixers games. I told him the next two years are going to go by fast. I want to show him as much as I can, to try and get him through this process.”
And that's how he feels about all of his teammates -- not just Brown. That mutual respect is what makes him such an unassuming, yet commanding leader.
No one has ever assigned the role to Moore. It was something he ascribed to himself. It's a role that he takes pride in. A role he expects from himself, and now, his teammates of him.
With the practically insurmountable weight of the team upon his shoulders, he fulfilled it tonight. And more.
by Kami Mattioli, Owlsports.com Columnist
