Relentless, emotional Moye wears heart on sleeve all the time

There's one IU men's basketball player coach Mike Davis said he wants people talking about: senior guard/forward A.J. Moye.\n"A.J. Moye is fighting with every inch and drop of energy that he has," Davis said. "He's a guy that's putting it on the line all the time."\nAfter IU's 84-82 double-overtime loss to Iowa, Moye was a no-show in the media room for interviews. Davis said Moye was the only one crying in the locker room. \nSaturday was no ordinary game for this southern boy from Atlanta, Ga. Moye turned 22 Saturday, and his entire family came up to watch the game.\nMaybe it all added to the pressure for Moye, who picked up his fourth personal foul with 4:42 left in regulation.\nDavis played him anyway.\n"I wasn't going to take him out," Davis said. "He's too important to us."\nMoye was second in scoring for the Hoosiers in the contest with the Hawkeyes. He had 20 points, six rebounds and one assist. Six of Moye's points came from two treys less than a minute apart in the first overtime. \nIowa coach Steve Alford said his team's main adjustments were made around Moye. Alford said he told his team before the game Moye was IU's X-factor.\n"I think he's been tremendous," Alford said. "He's been somebody that's a big time leader and a fierce competitor."\nAlford also noticed an improvement in Moye's play compared to last year when he wasn't as big of a threat from behind the arc.\n"Now he's somebody knocking down threes consistently and he's not afraid to take shots," Alford said. "He's playing with big time confidence."\nMoye's confidence and ability to lead the Hoosiers shows on the court when he's battling for loose balls and taking charges, sophomore guard Bracey Wright said. \nWright said Moye isn't concerned with being the star of the team, he just wants to win.\nTo hear Davis and Moye's teammates talk about his drive to win and dedication to the team is to hear sincere, heartfelt comments from people on whom Moye has rubbed off.\n"You couldn't ask any more out of a guy like A.J. Moye," Davis said. "He's a senior who in practice works his butt off, before and after. He's here all the time."\nDavis said Moye comes in to practice in between classes and in the evening. He said he feels bad for Moye because he's a senior and is fighting like crazy.\nAlford said players like Moye are always a welcome sight.\n"You always like to see guys compete the way A.J. competes," Alford said, not the first coach this season to comment on the big heart of Moye. "He's a fierce competitor. You always like to see guys like that have success and we're just ... we're thankful we had one more bucket than what he had."\nThe hurtful look on Moye's face when the game ended could probably be seen from the top row of the balcony. After the Iowa loss, Moye stood on the court for a moment, appearing to let IU's second home loss in a row soak in.\nWright, the team's leading scorer with 25 points, said he felt bad for Moye because he wants to send him off in style by taking the team deep into the tournament.\n"Every time after a loss, I can see it in his eyes that he's hurt," Wright said. "And it hurts me to see him like that because I really want him to succeed because he's taken so much abuse over the season. He's been thrown for so many loops over his career that I want to see him succeed."\n-- Contact staff writer Natalie A. Trout at natrout@indiana.edu.