By Miguel A. Melendez, Staff Writer

Wearing nothing but diapers and an oversized Muir High School boys basketball T-shirt, Rocky Moore roamed the basketball court as a 2-year-old chasing loose balls and tumbling after taking charges.

It was on Muir’s basketball court where Moore, the second-year senior starting quarterback at La Caada, learned that playing a physical style was fun. It was also there where a strong father-son bond began.

Moore’s father, Bill “Rocky” Moore, coached the Muir program to basketball supremacy, leading the Mustangs to the 1993 and 1996 CIF-Southern Section championships. Surrounded by driven, future Division I athletes is how Moore learned to build a strong work ethic. Among them was Jacques Vaughn who played under Roy Williams at Kansas and is a 12-year NBA veteran starting his fourth season with the San Antonio Spurs.

Moore spent countless hours on the hardwood learning the game his father loved, but equally as important it was watching older and much taller guys play with such high intensity. It was an environment Bill Moore wanted his sons to be surrounded by.

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“They’ll yell at Rocky to get out of the way,” Bill Moore recalled. “That was kind of the warning, and they might have bumped him a bit and the kids would enjoy it because they would say he took another charge.”

It was all in fun. Really.

Kace Motley once bumped Moore with such force that he went tumbling across the shiny floor.

“But he was giggling,” quipped Bill Moore. “Anytime the players saw him on the floor they’d say `There’s Rocky … going after another loose ball.”‘

Moore got knocked down more than a couple times, but he learned to get up, and by learning that at a young age he’s now reaping the benefits of understanding that concept.

While Moore didn’t have the gift of height, he was as determined and resilient as anyone.

Moore played freshman football at Pasadena before transferring to La Caada where he played junior varsity his sophomore year.

Then came the final game of the season against Blair. Moore was thrust into his first varsity game. It didn’t help that his first play had the Spartans on their own 1-yard line. He barely had over 100 yards passing, threw one touchdown and three interceptions.

It wasn’t as bad as it sounds, at least not in the long run.

“It was a game that I needed,” Moore said. “I needed that one game to set the tone for how things were going to be.”

Being a boy among men proved beneficial for Moore, even if he didn’t know growing up in that environment would eventually pay dividends.

“It was a big influence because being there I was always being pushed,” Moore said. “Being around those guys like Jacque Vaughn really toughened me up mentally and physically.”

La Caada’s season didn’t get off to the best of starts this year. The fires in the Angeles National Forest canceled a majority of practices, a scrimmage and the Spartans’ season opener against Alhambra.

That the Spartans routed Glendale, 35-0, to start the season a week late and that Moore threw for 289 yards and three touchdowns while completing 11 of 17 pass attempts was rather impressive. After all, Moore was the basketball kid who also played football, not the other way around. He is a key figure on the Spartans basketball team.

When La Caada faced a tough Crescenta Valley team, Moore didn’t blink.

“We were supposed to lose big to Crescenta Valley,” Moore said. “We weren’t even supposed to be close.”

Moore took a beating by guys seemingly twice the size of the Spartans’ offensive line.

“I was getting nailed by guys way bigger and dog piled,” Moore said. “But I always think back the days on the court and remember it’s most important getting back up.”

La Caada lost to Crescenta Valley, but it wasn’t a landslide like everyone had predicted. It was 38-35.

Moore led the comeback and tied the game at 28 heading in the fourth quarter. He completed 14 of 27 passes for 204 yards and three touchdowns.

He was poised, calm and exhibited the kind of leadership the Spartans will need if they are to challenge for a CIF playoff spot.

Moore is aware of how fortunate he is to have been surrounded by positive people, starting with his coaching staff, perhaps the reason why people are now referring to Moore as the football guy instead of the basketball guy.

“I knew once (La Caada coach Dan) Yoder got the job he was going to bust my butt,” Moore said. “It’s always been about fundamentals.”

Bill Moore adds: “Rocky always praises coach Yoder by how organized he is and the precisions of all the drills and how the guys are buying in.”

Moore admits he’s a lot more laid back than his father was coaching on the court. He finds it funny when he hears his father yelling from the stands.

“But I can assure you this,” Bill Moore says. “In the heat of competition Rocky has the leadership skills and when it’s time to get after it, he’ll get after it.”

“Rocky” used to be Bill Moore’s nickname since he was a kid and it’s stuck even now as an associate professor at Pasadena City College. In fact, “Rocky” is a nickname that’s been handed down four generations.

Bill “Rocky” Moore liked the name so much he named that his first son.

“That’s on his birth certificate,” he said. “My mom has always liked the name. It’s a name that stuck and Rocky’s mother (Heather) agreed.”

Given the early tumblings, the name definitely suits him well.

miguel.melendez@sgvn.com