Less is Moore, as freshman center learns basketball ropes

By Michael Kern

Daily Sports Writer

In the forest of Michigan basketball, the biggest tree has shed some dead weight and gotten a whole lot stronger in the process.

Freshman center Josh Moore - who at 7-foot-2 is the tallest player in Michigan history - has been working out all summer to get back into playing shape after taking a year off.

"I feel like an oak," Moore said.

Moore arrived in Ann Arbor this summer at 328 pounds after spending a year at Saint Thomas More Prep School to gain academic eligibility. Since he began a daily regiment of running and lifting weights a couple of months ago, Moore has dropped 31 pounds.

"I'm down to 297, but my body frame can handle 350 pounds," Moore said. "I'd like to gain three more pounds of muscle and get back to 300. Hopefully, I can add more muscle and eventually get back to 330 in a couple of years."

By comparison, Shaquille O'Neal - last year's MVP who led the Lakers to the NBA title - is 7-foot-1 and weighs in at 315.

The strength and agility Moore gained from his workouts have already shown dividends in pickup games with his teammates. Once he gets into the paint, it's hard to move him out.

"When I make a move, guys have to get out of the way, or they might get hit," Moore said. "I want to punish my opponents. I want my game to be punishing."

Moore started his workouts this summer at Schembechler Hall, lifting weights and running with members of the football team who were preparing for the fall season.

Joined by sophomore Dave Petruziello and freshmen Chris Perry and Calvin Bell, Moore started lifting three times a week and running every other day.

"It was like we started a fraternity," Moore said.

In addition to his workouts off the court, Moore has been working with his teammates to improve his game on the court.

Senior Josh Asselin and junior Chris Young have taken the freshman under their wing to teach him how to stay out of foul trouble in the physical Big Ten.

"Josh has been like a big brother," Moore said. "Chris has been like a drill sergeant, telling me to do that or make that move."

Moore isn't the only Wolverine who spends his free time in the weight room. Sophomore Lavell Blanchard - who Moore called "one of the hardest working players in the Big Ten" - also maintains a strict regiment of off-court running and weightlifting. But Moore is trying to instill that same enthusiasm in all of his teammates.

"I call guys up and say, 'Hey, I'm going down to lift weights,'" Moore said. "'Let's go. I'll give you a ride.'"

Between adjusting to life as a freshman at Michigan and working out with his teammates, Moore hardly gets a free moment to himself. His workout schedule keeps him in the weight room or on the track six days a week.

"I get Sundays off," Moore said.