Seniors Moye, Leach look to lead team

They've been through it all.\nWhen former IU coach Bob Knight was fired, they were there.\nWhen coach Mike Davis took over as head coach, they were there.\nWhen the 2002 team upset Duke, beat Kent State and then upset Oklahoma to make it to the NCAA title game, they were there -- helping their team reach the national title game.\nSeniors A.J. Moye and George Leach want more than anything to be there again.\n"I've been waiting four years for this," Moye said of being a senior. "Coach sets goals and certain standards for me and George Leach to have and to attain as captains. I feel I'm up for it."\nSophomore guard Bracey Wright said the senior duo has been through everything and they know a lot about college basketball, having been here for four years.\nMoye, a 6-foot-3-inch guard from Atlanta, scored a season-high 18 points last year against Michigan in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tournament.\nMoye's leadership has been appreciated with this team, Davis said. The seniors are looking for a good season and Davis said Moye is by far the best leader the team has had since he's been here.\nFreshman guard Roderick Wilmont, Moye's roommate, said he is proud of the leadership his roommate brings to the team.\n"He's been stepping up big and letting young guys know what to do and how to do their job," Wilmont said. \nLeach, a center from Charlotte, N.C., redshirted his freshman year. He is sixth on IU's all-time blocked shots list with 149 as of the end of his junior year. \nLeach recorded 79 of those blocked shots last season. \nThe 7-foot-1-inch center saw 12 minutes of play in IU's last exhibition game against the Southeastern All-Stars and scored seven points. Playing the defensive role as usual, he also recorded four blocks.\nBut this season, Davis said he also see's Leach as a scorer who can be just as successful as Jeff Newton was last year.\n"(Kirk) Haston, (Jared) Jeffries and then Newton, well now it's George's turn," Davis said. "Hopefully George can get it done inside and I feel confident that he can."\nFreshman Pat Ewing Jr. said Leach is one of the best shot blockers in the nation and even said he wants to be the same, modeling his play after the senior. \nAs leaders, Moye said he and Leach know their roles on the team and will do all they can to teach the younger players about the game.\n"We know that if we don't play hard and work hard, that's not the blueprint for success," Moye said. "Success is constructed through hard work and we understand that now."\nLeach, whom many consider a serious contender for Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, said he isn't concerned with the personal achievements of the year. \n"I just want to fight for a national title," Leach said. "That's all I want to do.\n-- Contact staff writer Natalie A. Trout at natrout@indiana.edu.