Navonda Moore--or D, as her teammates call her--may be the least known member of this year’s Minnesota Lynx. Surfing around the numerous message boards that I take part in, I saw many people shocked that Chandi Jones was the final cut and not Moore. Yet, as someone who saw Moore at the beginning of camp through opening day, her heart, hustle and improvement were astounding. Quite honestly, when I first saw Moore, I thought there would be no way she would make this squad, but now, I am very excited for her contributions to this team.
After the Lynx open practice in Champlin this week, I sat down with Moore to discuss training camp and the season, which starts just a few hours from now.
SL: How excited are you for the up-tempo style of play that Coach Zierden is implementing?
NM: Oh, man, I’m very excited because people who have seen me play in the past, they know that’s kind of my style. I like to get up and down the floor. I don’t too much care for half-court sets. I will, if I have to, but I think the game is a lot more exciting for us as players and for our fans to see professional athletes get up and go. I’m happy that Z is like that. It fits me perfectly.
SL: What has been the hardest part of training camp for you?
NM: Me personally, it’s the two-a-days. Everyday. In college, we had periods where we would go more than once a day, but you have days off in between. We’ve been going hard. Two times a day…just pushing ourselves past that level that I didn’t think my body could go through. Playing against great players everyday twice a day, it’s a challenge. Once you get there, it’s a great feeling, but getting through this is hard, man. So, that was my challenge.
SL: What are your thoughts on Coach Zierden so far?
NM: He’s a great guy. The first conversation I had with him, he called me because I’m undrafted. He called me and he brought me up and, in that instant, I felt a great vibe and then meeting him was even better. You can tell right off the bat that he cares about us, not only as athletes, but as young women. You couldn’t ask for more in a coach.
SL: Especially now after the release of Katryna Gaither, are you concerned at all about the lack of post players on this team?
NM: Concerned? No. Coach Z challenges us and he challenges our post players every day. When people come in and see how hard these girls work to expand their game and to give everything to their team, they won’t be concerned either. Those post players are going to bring it every night.
SL: Now, be a scout for me and tell me what you’ve seen out of the other rookies in camp.
NM: For me personally--and this is from the bottom of my heart--I think this is one of the greatest rookies classes ever coming in. I mean, Lindsey Harding. What can you say? Number one draft pick. I watched her for years at Duke back home in Alabama and just to be able to play with her, I’m very excited. She’s a heady, heady point guard. She’s smart. She knows when to push it, she knows when to slow it down, she knows when to take it and she knows how to get her teammates involved. Defensively, she’s a beast. She’s going to go after other point guards with crazy, mad defense.
SL: Noelle Quinn?
NM: Noelle Quinn from UCLA. We call her ‘Butter’ because she’s got one of the purest jumpers I’ve seen in a long time. She’s smart too. Her thing is passing because she has tremendous passing abilities. You’ve always got to be ready because she’s real flashy, but it’s nice.
SL: Shay Murphy?
NM: Hard worker. She’s just a very intense person and crashes the boards real hard. Nice set jumper and just one of those people who knows how to win, wants to win and is willing to do anything to win.
SL: Kathrin Ress?
NM: Kat-Kat. A big, physical player down there. Great footwork and she loves to bang. She’s going to give you 100% every time she’s down on that block.
SL: With the season starting shortly, what do you feel will be your specific role on this team?
NM: The first conversation I had with Z, he said he wanted an athletic person defensively and that’s what I’ve been trying to focus on this whole training camp. At Alabama, I was the scorer. You know, I had to do a lot of things there, but now, I know I might have to step to that role of scoring a little bit, but I want to be that person he can put on anybody in the league--well, not post players--but, any great offensive guard in the league and he can be like ‘D, lock her up.’ I want to be that person, that defensive stopper and so I’ve been working on that and I take pride in that. Also, from the three position, crashing the boards real hard. I feel like I bring a lot of athleticism around the perimeter defensively and also crashing those offensive boards.
SL: Obviously, you were not a part of this team last year, but this team is coming off a 10-win season. The big acquisitions were all rookies, talented rookies, but you are all rookies nonetheless.
NM: What you trying to say, Stephen? (Laughs)
SL: Just saying that you guys are talented, but you’ll have to learn this league.
NM: Sure, sure.
SL: But with that in mind, what do you think is a realistic expectation for this team this season?
NM: You know what? I’m not going to do that. You’re not going to trap me into doing that, but I will tell you this. The good thing about this team here is the fact that we are rookies. We have talented rookies. We can hear about last year, but we weren’t a part of that. It’s unfortunate that it was like that and I feel for the vets who had to go through that, but this is a whole different year. Fortunately for the rookies, we don’t have that to think about. That’s not in our minds. I just think the way this team is built this year, with our athleticism and our up and down temp and the way we plan on getting into people defensively, I’m not going to give you a number, but I will say this…it will be a very special season.
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