Randall Moore walked into the south gym at Pueblo High School last month for the first time in years. He knew exactly where to look.
The former Warriors standout glanced at the wall, next to the basket at the north end of the gym, for his name.
It was still there, honoring Moore, who graduated in 1976, as one of the best ever to attend Pueblo.
"It had been a while since I'd seen my name up there," Moore said. "It's starting to fade a little, but you can't help but feel a lot of pride when you look up there."
Now, after being named Pueblo's new head basketball coach last month, Moore's goal is to try to bring the pride established in the south gym to Lever Gym, named after former Pueblo and ASU star Fat Lever, where the Warriors now play their home games.
"That's what motivates me," Moore said. "There have been some great teams and great players in the south gym. Now, we have to bring that over to Lever Gym."
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Moore's road back to Pueblo was a long one. After playing collegiately at Abilene Christian (Texas), Moore got his first coaching job leading a seventh-grade boys team in Grand Prairie, Texas.
After returning to Tucson and coaching in the Sunnyside district, Moore took over at Pima College for three seasons. He left Pima to be an assistant coach at NAU for two seasons, but again, came back to Tucson. He coached Pima a second time, and most recently, has served as an assistant at Sunnyside.
"It's been an interesting journey," Moore said. "I'm glad to be back here. Glad to be back to my roots.
"It's very meaningful for me to be the head coach here, and I take a lot of pride in it."
Honor for Fowler
CDO's Mattie Fowler was named the Gatorade Arizona Softball Player of the Year on Thursday.
The Nebraska commit hit .569 with 17 home runs and 91 RBIs for the state champion Dorados. She also posted a 14-0 record and a 0.85 ERA in the circle.
Fowler's older sister, Kenzie, now the ace at Arizona, won the award three times (2007-09). The Fowler sisters are the only two players to win the award from CDO.
Quick hits
• Salpointe Catholic basketball player Colby Weaver has accepted a spot at NAU as an invited walk-on. Weaver left Tucson for Flagstaff for summer workouts.
• Pusch Ridge Christian soccer standout Chelsea Ruland signed to play her college ball at Arizona Christian. Ruland led the Lions to the state championship game as a senior this year.
• Ironwood Ridge's Alex Odenkirk signed with Augustana College (Ill.) to run cross country and track and field for the Vikings.
