Moore drums opponents and the real thing

I come from a pretty musical family. Growing up, people around me played an instrument or were always singing. Music was going on always. I picked up the drums when I was around 10 or 11. They held my attention, and I kind of banged around and got pretty good at them.

I don’t really know how to play. I’ve never performed in a band or anything. I pick up music by ear. It’s just something I enjoy. I try to play along to some good songs.

Whenever I can learn a song, I feel like I am part of the music and I can kind of escape. It’s almost like the feeling in basketball when everyone’s on the same page, flowing right, moving the ball all right. Same with music, when you’re in a good rhythm.

I still have the old drum kit that I got 11 years ago. It’s in my mom’s basement. She lives up here 30 minutes from campus. Every once in a while I go over there and play, if it’s early enough in the day, so I don’t disturb the neighbors.

I like a wide variety of music, from alternative to R&B, almost funk. Sometimes there are some gospel songs. I’ll attempt almost any genre that has a nice beat. But mainly I play R&B.

One simple R&B song I play is by India Arie, “Strength, Courage & Wisdom.” It’s a simple, nice little beat. For alternative, I like Coldplay songs. I love what they do.

I don’t have a favorite drummer. I don’t really study it like that. I would like to study like that sometimes. I would love to if someone would try to teach me about the drums.

There’s no one part of the drum kit I like the most. Anything that’s part of it, I like.

I love to sing, but nothing official. The only time I sang in a group was when I was in chorus in elementary school. Everyone was in the chorus.

Our team is always singing and being goofy. We try to pretend we’re a music group instead of a basketball team. We probably sing more R&B songs than anything. When we beat Florida State to make the Final Four, I don’t remember what we sang, but we were dancing.

On my IPod, there’s mostly a lot of Christian R&B and rap. I like Mary Mary, The McRaes, Toby Mac.

I am a spiritual person, and that’s 90 percent of what I listen to. I think it grounds me and gives me a sense of purpose and direction in my life.

As I grow older and become an adult, I see so many ways and directions I could be pulled in. I’m just so happy that I was able to find my faith in middle school and develop a relationship with Christ in high school and college. I think it helps me not get distracted.

I love music, so it’s a source of joy for me. I’ve got to listen to something, fill my head with something, so this gives me the benefit spiritually. It keeps my mind and heart right and still in my mind and soul instead of tempting or distracting me.

I enjoy a playlist of those songs before the game. That helps me get started and ready to go.

-- As told to Michelle Hiskey for the AJC