Nice Article on PSU Recruit Aaron Moore

When I read and wrote that Portland State had signed JUCO big man Aaron Moore, the name sounded awfully familiar, but I couldn't figure out why. But when reading an article by Rob Dauster of NBCSports, it all became clear.

Moore is a central character in the fantastic book Play Their Hearts Out: A Coach, His Star Recruit, and the Youth Basketball Machine, a book I ranked as the third best high school or college basketball book that I had ever read (and one you should check out if you have not read it yet).

From Dauster's article:

Walker gets the majority of the attention because he is the guy that had Sports Illustrated write about him as a 14 year old, but the fact of the matter is that the book is about an entire team, and Walker was far from that team’s most heartbreaking story.

That title goes to Aaron Moore. Moore was a 6-foot-7 freshman that worked his way into Compton’s powerhouse Dominguez program, which has produced talents like Tyson Chandler and Brandon Jennings. But Moore’s upbringing was quite upsetting to read about. He was molested by his step-father before he even entered elementary school. He was propositioned — although, according to the book, never assaulted — by convicted child molester and former Dominguez head coach Russell Otis. His mother, who was receiving payouts from Otis for her son to play at Dominguez, tried to get Moore to return to the school to keep the money coming in. He was missing class and games as early as his sophomore season, and when he should have been attending prom and picking a school to attend, Moore was a homeless dropout.

Moore is a guy that will be very easy to root for, that is for sure. Here's to hoping he has a stellar two-year career for the Vikings.

Follow me on Twitter @bigskybball