Maya Moore Top Ten Plays

[ndmb]

of 2013.

Not your usual highlight reel, lots of emphasis on hustle plays.

 

[MaineFan]

wow

 

[Scotter]

Great to see highlights of her spectacular passing ability. It never seems to get talked about, but it is a huge part of what separates her from other scoring forwards.

 

[Geno-ista]

She is so quietly and naturally great. She is so smooth, her greatness is almost subdued. And she is the real life definition of the words "class & grace". What an athlete. The ball handling after the steals was really impressive also.

 

[VAMike23]

Great highlight package !!! I'm wondering if they finished it before the recent shot she made over Fowles, as I thought that was a pretty spectacular shot. But it is certainly great to see so many great feeds by Maya - she knows how to give it up! The #1 play was especially cool ! (I watch all of her Lynx games and I had forgotten that one.)

 

[Goodies07]

The #1 play was especially cool ! (I watch all of her Lynx games and I had forgotten that one.)

Outside of her shooting ability, that play tells you all you need to know about her value to the Lynx.

 

[Icebear]

Exactly. Nuff said.

 

[meyers7]

Very nice.

 

[psconn]

of 2013.

Not your usual highlight reel, lots of emphasis on hustle plays.

My internal debate over who is the best player in WBB continues... holy crap she's good!

 

[sarals24]

I'd say her ball handling has improved....

 

[Icebear]

She always was a good ball handler just not fancy and so many folks downgraded her. Maya is just conservative and doesn't use things like going behind her back unless it is necessary or helpful.

 

[VAMike23]

Maya uses the behind-the-back very well in the open court, and she also uses it quite a bit in the half-court when she changes direction to rub her defender off a screen on the perimeter.

Having said that, though her ball handling has surely improved with each passing year, it is still one area where Maya has more room for improvement than most other parts of her game. She is really good at spotting seams/gaps and driving those gaps but her face up dribbling in traffic still gives her troubles now and then. Less now than in her first pro year.

As we have seen for years, she likes to use her athleticism to eat up huge amounts of real estate with each step, therefore she can do a lot in only 2-3 steps--one of the abilities that makes her special, even in the W. And she is getting noticably better at keeping her dribble alive when backing people down and then using a couple of different moves.

I expect her to continue improving in this area although it will never really be her calling card, a la Seimone A. or a few other players like her. Which is fine - Maya has a number of other special talents that have always made her a standout, and always will.

 

[ed4ourgirls]

For me Maya's greatest all-time play occurred her freshman year in the De Paul
game when she stole the ball and called timeout with fewer than 8 seconds left,
so that Ketia could go the length of the court for the winning basket.

I thought that game was lost, and I'll bet everyone else did too (except Maya).

 

[Geno-ista]

For me Maya's greatest all-time play occurred her freshman year in the De Paul
game when she stole the ball and called timeout with fewer than 8 seconds left,
so that Ketia could go the length of the court for the winning basket.

I thought that game was lost, and I'll bet everyone else did too (except Maya).

Wasn't she falling out of bounds after the steal- and got the time out just before hitting the line or falling out of bounds.
She is something- I miss her! Snuck into Gampel before the Trenton Regionals the year Tiff lit it up for 30 pts plus in one of those games vs Cal or Ariz state I think- Anyhoo- I go into the Mezzanine. Geno is shooting around with mens players and Maya runs out of the locker room tunnel and looks up and sees me. I'm the only person in the stands. I motion to her if she would take a picture - and she nods and smiles yes from still on the b ball floor. She runs the floor and leaps 5 steps at a time. Chat for a minute or two. I take a picture of her and then she says give me the camera- gives me a bear hug and extends those long arms and takes a close up of the two of us. What a gem!
Her handshake was unreal. I think it was her Soph year-

 

[sarals24]

Her ball handling just looks better overall. She didn't do a ton of length-of-the-court dribbling at UConn, like a previous poster said she preferred to rely on her athleticism and took huge strides or passed to get the ball upcourt. She looks more comfortable overall with outting the ball on the floor. Always one facet of her game that I thought could improve, and it has.

 

[VAMike23]

IMHO, Maya is the best player in the league 'without the ball':

1) She turns bad passes and loose balls into retained possessions rather than turnovers.

2) She corrals mediocre passes--and even some bad passes--and turns them into buckets.

3) Due to her great hands and exceptional athleticism, she gives her teammates a HUGE effective target zone, way over and above the normal 6-foot player's target zone.

4) When sealing defenders (usually guards or wings 6-ft and under), she has perfect timing on the catch, always keeps the ball very high, and finishes quickly.

5) When paired with a good passer--one who is aware of what Maya is doing and where she is on the floor--she creates scoring opportunities that would not even exist for most players, let alone getting converted. These include things like crazy alley-oops out of nowhere in traffic; sprint-outs on the break where she not only gets behind the D but then catches and convert buckets even at a full-out run, etc.

So to me, it is not surprising that she isn't mistaken for Marques Haynes with the ball in most situations. That's because she is pretty much the world's best at moving and making an impact 'without the ball' and has done this her whole career. It would be unusual, I think, to find someone who is truly great in both respects, because greatness in many ways requires a certain focus. Maya is gradually shoring up her ball-handling skills and will continue to develop these skills going forward.

 

[Icebear]

Well said, VAMike.

 

[psconn]

For me Maya's greatest all-time play occurred her freshman year in the De Paul
game when she stole the ball and called timeout with fewer than 8 seconds left,
so that Ketia could go the length of the court for the winning basket.

I thought that game was lost, and I'll bet everyone else did too (except Maya).

And here it is... an all-time fav of mine too. Kudos to Meg for predicting the go-ahead play. Bob and Meg threw the ref under the bus and back over him a couple times... classic.

 

[MilfordHusky]

My favorite player. I just love watching her play.

 

[DaddyChoc]

Outside of her shooting ability, that play tells you all you need to know about her value to the Lynx.

dang Goodies where you been, nice to hear from you

 

[Geno-ista]

And here it is... an all-time fav of mine too. Kudos to Meg for predicting the go-ahead play. Bob and Meg threw the ref under the bus and back over him a couple times... classic.

Thanks for posting this- this stuff never gets old!