By Angie Ledbetter

John Terry Moore is a senior on the North Delta Green Wave varsity basketball team. He loves the game of basketball and has a great passion for it; he has been shooting basketball outside since the age of three.

For several years, he could be seen outside by himself or with his dad, practicing at his goal. That goal still stands in the same place as it did years back, but it has been upgraded to a newer version.

Moore has been in competitive basketball since the first grade. He played in Upward basketball for six years and has continued playing throughout his junior high and high school years.

He has been on the North Delta School team every year except for one semester in his ninth grade year when he attended South Panola.

Moore mainly played wing for the Green Wave varsity team, but he has played a lot of positions during the years, including point guard and post.

He became a starter in his eighth grade year and has been a starter every year since.

Moore said he loves everything there is when it comes to the game of basketball, both playing and watching.

It is his favorite sport even though he does play tennis for the Green Wave.

Moore has seen some coaching changes during his years at North Delta, but he is very pleased with head coach Brad Wilson.

“He is doing a real good job this year,” said Moore. “We have let a few games get away from us, but it has been very well coached.”

As far as this year’s team, Moore said it has talent.

“This is the most talented team that we have had since I have been here,” Moore said. “We have a lot more guys this year that care about the game more than I felt that we had a couple of years ago.”

Everyone is very competitive on the Green Wave team, according to Moore.

“Everyone wants to get out there and win,” said. “We have team unity. Any team is going to have problems but we have been able to make it through everything and everyone is pretty good friends.

“Just having two seniors on the team hasn’t been really hard. We could use a little bit more experience, but we have a bunch of juniors and sophomores that are filling in for us.”

(The interview and story were conducted and submitted five days prior to senior Michael Johnson’s death in a car accident.)

The district in which the Green Wave plays is tough, according to Moore.

“We have a real good team and we can compete to win it but it is a very tough district.”

Wilson described Moore as the “go-to” guy.

“He is one of our two seniors and our team leader,” Wilson said. “He is not very vocal but definitely leads by actions and his work ethic. He has made every practice all year long. We haven’t had any breaks because I haven’t given them a day off yet. He was up at the school this summer shooting. He missed very few practices this summer if any. He has put in a lot of hours this year. He put in a lot of hours as a junior and sophomore also.”

As the go-to guy, North Delta depended on Moore when they were down by three points at the Desoto game January 14.

“I wanted him to have the ball in his hand,” Wilson said. “He is our shooter. He has done well playing defensively and done a tremendous job at the two. He is our overall team leader. He is always there to correct somebody if he needs to as a senior. You want that in a senior, to have the senior leadership that he does.”

His plans after graduation are to attend a community college for one year and then transfer to Mississippi State University where he will watch the Bulldogs play basketball. He does not plan to play basketball after this year.

Moore spends his spare time hanging out with his friends and playing video games. He enjoys going to watch basketball games at Ole Miss and sometimes at the Memphis Grizzlies games, where he loves to go with his friends.

Not only does he play tennis, he plays some golf also. But that will never take the place of his passion for basketball.

Moore scored a game-high 23 points in the double overtime game with Tunica January 21. Head coach Brad Wilson said he proved that he was the go-to guy when his team was down.
Moore is the son of Terry and Teresa Moore of Batesville. They support their son by attending every game.