Don’t think you can stop A.J. Moye.

He combines a lethal arm with uncontainable speed. He’s a 6-0, 215-pound wunder-kid who’s on the brink of super stardom.

Huh?

Today, we’re not talking about Moye the 6-3, 215-pound basketball fire-plug who averaged 5.9 points and 3.1 rebounds off the IU bench a year ago. We’re talking about Moye, the John Madden 2002 video game artist, if you will. And when Moye plays Madden 2002 - which he does as frequently as time will permit - he drops the Hoosier Cream and Crimson for the Red and Black of his hometown Atlanta Falcons.

“Michael Vick. That’s all I got to say,” Moye gloats.

Moye and Vick combine to form a tandem that’s tough to beat in IU basketball circles. But there’s only one problem.

“He gets hurt too much,” says Moye.

When Vick goes down, though, Moye has the solution to that problem. He doesn’t turn to back-up Doug Johnson, a second-year free agent out of Florida who has only 55 career passes to his credit. Nor does he opt for third-stringer Kurt Kittner from Illinois, who has yet to hoist his first NFL toss.

Moye remedies Vick’s injury, simply enough, with his index finger.

“Reset,” says Moye.

Moye sat down with Inside Indiana to talk about a host of subjects, some topical, others tropical...

Yes - actually there are two of them. I like women’s basketball and the second one is I had a t-shirt on last year because I had a torn rotator cuff. I had a t-shirt with a shoulder brace and another t-shirt. So there’s no screaming eagle or burning flame tattoo. It was just a shoulder injury.

No, I don’t get into that.

It’s called Mind Gym. I can’t remember who wrote it, but it’s a very prominent sports psychologist. It’s all about training the mind for success.

Tenacious. He’s consistent - he goes for every rebound. And he’s determined.

I’d say Wilt [Chamberlain], but Wilt was 7-feet tall and played in an era where most guys were 6-7. He was a phenomenal player and is still probably one of the greatest.

But to me, it’s Dennis Rodman. That’s what he focused on. He’s only 6-7 or 6-6 1/2, but he’s got energy and he reads the flight of the ball like no other. When you watch tapes of him it’s almost like he knows where the ball is going.

I’d also throw in Bill Russell. It’s a combination of all of those three.

Charles Barkley, without a doubt. And I think Adrian Dantley played bigger than his size.

But I want to be the best rebounder ever in the 6-3 or 6-4 range. I hope that’s my stamp if I’m blessed enough to make it to the next level.

They listed him at 6-6, but he’s only about 6-4 and some change. But he’s wide. I met him and it’s unreal how wide he is. He just had some superior athleticism.

Ford - built Ford tough.

See, you look at me and see this big thick guy, and I don’t think there’s one I can’t stand. I eat them all.

I haven’t thought about that. It would have to be some sort of fettuccini - that’s good stuff.

Slam. I just love basketball.

Naw, I get that stuff all the time.

Naw, I’ve been on the cover before.

That was the first time I was exposed to the college basketball scene. It was through the eyes of Hollywood. And I was thinking everybody gets the gym bag of money and everything.

I just liked the movie. At that age, Shaq and Penny Hardaway were like Magic and Kareem for our generation. So I was loving that.

I just like the real-ness of it. Some of the basketball movies - no offense to some of these actors - you guys are remarkable actors but you can’t play basketball a lick. And they had Calbert [Cheaney], Bob Hurley, Adonis Jordan and Rex Walters. They had real players in the movie, and that made it much more realistic.

I like everyone in it.

For real? What are you doing in it?

How did you pull that off?

That’s cool. And I like how Nick Nolte really studied Coach [Bob] Knight. It’s just great acting all around.

No, I’ll give everything a chance. I have an open mind. But if it looks like it’s going to stink, I won’t even go see it.

Spirits. It’s not like a Hollywood, Ghostbusters kind of ghost, but a spirit. At times I believe in them. My best friend talks to me all the time. My grandfather, my aunt, friends I lost - sometimes I see things that remind me of them that I know other people can’t see.

So it’s almost like they’re speaking to me. So it’s kind of surreal. So I believe in spirits.

That’s unfair for me to say, because I’m not proven myself. Sometimes I think guys are victims of their hype. No one is overrated. But look how unfair things were for Felipe Lopez. He’s on the cover of Sports Illustrated before he plays a game.

They’re doing it now with LeBron James. He can’t breath. Everywhere he looks he’s on the cover of this and that.

I don’t think anyone is overrated, but sometimes you have to realize this is a game, and some guys are extremely talented, and some of them look like God sends to play basketball.

But it’s just a game, and sometimes there’s too much hype around kids, and they can’t ever get past it.

I’d say Dennis Johnson of the Boston Celtics. He was the man, a stud. He sacrificed a lot of his game to win, as did a lot of the guys on those great Celtic teams. But DJ is the most underrated.

Oh yeah. I watched the 1981 NCAA Championship game yesterday. I saw Coach [Jim] Thomas out there. I was laughing.

I love watching old tapes, because the old teams are the ones who set all the standards. Ten championships with the Celtics? You’ve got Magic [Johnson]with five, [Larry] Bird with three...

I like watching old teams because I think a lot of times in this day and age, the team gets sacrificed for the flair and individuality. And I like watching those tapes to see what they did - not just playing, but leadership-wise. Pointing, talking, just to see how they conducted their team to perform as a unit and keep that consistent high-level of performance for years.

That’s why I like watching old tapes - I think the camaraderie is stronger, and I think the desire is a little more team-oriented. No one is trying to reach incentives.

I don’t know if there really are any. The game used to be dominated by big men, and now it’s switching over to the guards. I think they were better fundamentally-sound shooters back them. Now you have a lot of streak shooters. I think there was more passing and less dribbling. That’s the opposite of the way it is now.

I think our team is kind of a throw back. Coach [Mike] Davis has a great system. It’s not old school or anything, but it makes sense. Keep it simple.

I think the game is simple - more simple than it’s made out to be today. It’s awesome to make a great move with four or five dribbles and score over two or three opponents. But if you swing it around the horn two times, and get the same open shot without expending the energy, that’s better.

I don’t know. Maybe they were still dunking 20 or 30 years ago, and they’re dunking now. But that’s about it.

I think the game evolves every year. Some of the changes are for the better and some are pretty negative. You take the good with the bad, take it in stride and try to improve.

That’s the greatest praise I could get. My whole time growing up, I was always a kid looking at the past generations. Everyone else was liking a current player, like Michael Jordan, and I was always talking about Magic, Isiah [Thomas], Dr. J., I even used to talk about David Thompson when I was a little kid.

That’s what my dad always showed me - old tapes. “Showtime” - it’s all we used to watch, even in the 90s. I watched how they’d win and how they competed.

Old school is the greatest tag someone could give me. People come up to me and say they haven’t seen anyone play like that since back then and when such-and-such was here, and I wasn’t even born when those people were playing.

So I admire it. I’m glad they see me that way, and I just try to work hard. I don’t think I could do some of that stuff even if I wanted to, some of these cross-overs.

It was the whole team - they fought. I didn’t know Coach Thomas could rebound like that, and the whole team would. They were all great. Coach Thomas, he had that jumper, and it’s still money. He made a lot of hustle plays, and I can see why they won. That’s what I like to look at - the little things of how they won - what makes them a winner.

What does that mean?

Thanks Dan, I guess. With [the media], you guys get a kick out of me. And I get a kick out you guys. I just have fun. I might have the most fun playing college basketball, and I might have the most fun talking to you guys. So it’s a pretty cool title.

But I don’t want that title. The only title I want is the one that says NCAA.

It’s all fun, all in good fun.

I’m really not that funny. I can tell jokes, but I’m not a joke guy. I’m more of a punch line guy, a one-liner type guy. Situational humor.

No jokes.

Cov is the man. Cov and [Ryan] Tapak might be the funniest guys on the team. I’m right there behind them, maybe a close second or third.

They’re both. They’re anything. They’re versatile when it comes to comedic relief. It’s great.

This is a great team to be around. Actually, [IU trainer] Tim Garl is the funniest guy. Garl keeps us loose. He’s hilarious. I can’t say some of the stuff he says, but he gets me going every day. I might come in looking beat, and he has a couple quick one-liners and I’m ready to go.

(long pause) I won’t do that to these guys. There are some, but I won’t do that to the guys. I love them too much. We’re such a unit, that even when you’re pressed and want to have some fun, I won’t do that to the guys.

But there are some funny ones, though.

Sharif Abdur Rahim. That’s just because I grew up around him and watched him work and competed with him a couple of times. There are great players out there that I haven’t played against, but he’s the one, he’s my favorite.

Probably just a Range Rover...4.6...

They changed basketball. They took it some good strides forward. But in the aftermath, they destroyed some things.

But it was great. I remember watching them - Newt, all of us just watching them when we were small. Getting black socks and big shorts. There was a period when you couldn’t tell me anything bad about Michigan because of the Fab Five. They really transcended the sport.

I’m glad they did it, because now you can recruit two top-five players and sell them on the Fab Five thing. They showed it can work. You can go there, you can be highly acclaimed, and you can win. You don’t have to worry about someone being the man.

I don’t think that will ever happen again. All the money in the world can’t buy that. Just goes to show with everything that’s going on with them now. They spent half the money in the world to get the kids.

But it was cool. I didn’t know they were getting paid then. But as I grew older I kind of figured it out. But as a kid you just say, wow, that’s a coincidence. But coincidences like that don’t happen anymore.

The next time someone lands a Fab Five these days, the NCAA will be there the next day.

The video game? I’m the man. I haven’t lost yet this year. Trust me - I haven’t lost.

We all just play a lot. I haven’t lost yet this year. I haven’t gone against Newt, yet, in all fairness to him. But I don’t think he wants to see me - no one wants to see me in that game.

The Falcons every time. Michael Vick. That’s all I got to say. He’s out of the pocket every play. If you come at me, I’m going to hit your man for a strike, and if you don’t come at me, I’m going to run it up your back.

But he gets hurt too much. He doesn’t have a lot of strength, physically. And once he gets hurt...reset the game.

All I do is double cover him, give him a little bump and run. Then I play the free safety myself and sit on his side, and then make him beat me with the no-name kid.

Well, Cov is the man in college football. We’re out of the football season, now, though. NBA Live came out last week. So Newt and I go at it all day. Coach Davis was making fun of us calling us zombies because we were at his house on Saturday, and we were playing until 10. We didn’t even move - we just stared at the screen. Me and Newt going back and forth. Coach got a kick out of that.

I’m everybody. It doesn’t matter. I’ll even play with the Nuggets. I did beat Newt with the Nuggets. He should be ashamed.

In a game?

No, we’re smarter than that. We’re smarter than all that.

In a game, my freshman year I was out of shape a lot of time, but not any more.

There are too many.

Then it has to be her. It has to be her. Everyone knows Halle has a soft spot right here (pointing to his heart).

She might. She might.

I met Walt Bellamy, George McGinnis, just about everyone you can name I’ve met that’s still living.

The one that I’m really impressed with is [Kent] Benson. He and I have talked a lot over the course of the last few years about being tough and being a leader. We’ve talked about winning and what winning is about and what it takes.

He always comes back whenever he has a chance to reiterate it. I really like that.

I would, but I don’t want to. There are certain things I can do because I have the gift of gab, if you will. But I don’t really want to.

Then again, if the money is right, I’d tap dance on the moon...

I like Gibran [Hamdan]. That kid - he just fits the mold. My mother always says that it’s best to be prepared for an opportunity that doesn’t come, than to be unprepared for an opportunity that does come.

He’s ready when called upon. And when they lose, he takes full blame. Some guys lose and point fingers. He says, hey, I’m the leader, I’m the quarterback, it was my fault.

It could be anybody’s fault for losing the game to the naked eye. But to him, it’s on his shoulders.

I like his attitude, he’s a nice guy, he goes all out. He’s a good kid.

Too bad this is his last year. If it wasn’t for Antwaan [Randle El] being here, he might have been a great college quarterback and possibly a pro prospect with his size and the way he can throw the ball. You have to realize this kid has only played six games, and he’s putting up some pretty incredible numbers.

Mark Johnson. He was a quarterback in high school and he’s fast. I’d run a wishbone with him, kind of like Eric Crouch at Nebraska. I’d probably get Newt at wideout, and I’d get Cov to play anything I want because he’s tough as nails.

Just losing focus of why I was put here and who put me here.

At a particular point in my life not too long ago...I don’t know if people believe in a higher power, but I do. Sometimes you get to thinking it’s you, it’s you. But once I put that faith and gave praise to why I was here and who put me here and gave thanks and showed an appreciation, things have been going great for me.

I just had to acknowledge - I’ll say it, I believe in Christ. I believe in God. And I’ll never lose focus of that again. To me, that’s all you have. Notoriety, fame, fans, friends, all that can disappear. But the person that’s carrying you along, when you see that other set of footprints, it’s him. And I’ll always remember that.

Distantreplays.com. They sell old school jerseys and hats and stuff, and I like to look at the older jerseys and hats. That’s where I go to look for that stuff.

Quit trying to fight everybody! No, I wouldn’t say anything. I’m not big on politics. I don’t know what’s going on with our country, I have no idea what’s going on with the economy, all I know is I have to go into Assembly Hall and work as hard as I can for two hours a day.

So I’d say hello, Mr. President. You’re doing a great job.

Your privacy is invaded a lot. But it’s all how you look at it. I try to be a half full type of person. It’s not like anyone put a gun to my head and said, ‘You’re going to play basketball.’

This is what I chose, and you have to take the good with the bad.

I’d rather have people just annoy me to death than to just walk by and no one ever talked to me, or if I talked to people and they turned their head.

So it’s cool. You get a lot of attention.

The person I said I wanted to meet the most last year in the media guide. So you’ll have to do your research. (Editor’s Note: Beyonce Knowles, the lead singer of Destiny’s Child, was Moye’s choice in 2001, and he’s sticking with it.)

No!! Next question. No without a doubt.

Those other places are fair weather, bandwagon fans. Indiana basketball has always been Indiana basketball. I love all these programs, but besides Indiana, Kentucky, Kansas, North Carolina and UCLA, that’s where it stops as far as always being behind college basketball. Indiana might be the longest from day one.

Duke’s fans, they’ve just jumped on the last 15 years. I hate to take a shot at them, but it’s true.

I want to win. I’m older. My freshman and sophomore year it was cool to go to places and look around. And I know I’ve never been to Hawaii and I’ll probably never go back. But I’m not out there for sight-seeing - I want some respect.

There are a lot of teams that lost a whole lot, and they’re getting a heck of a lot more credit than we are right now. We lost a big gun and we lost some big guns, but there’s enough ammo left in there to blow the whole country away.

We want to go out there and win. I want to leave Maui with some respect. They can keep their rankings, but just some respect.

This is the third year in a row that people have just written us off. It puzzles me. It’s nuts. We just want to win and want to get back to the Final Four. Just like Maryland did last year by getting back after losing the year before, that’s what we want to do.

If we can get back there, we know enough to get it done this time. We just have to get there.

What did I not learn from Dane Fife? Everything I know about toughness and competing I learned from Dane Fife. Dane Fife, Coach [John] Treloar and Coach Davis. If it wasn’t for those three, I’d still be trying to get by.

You can get by - but you can’t get by on a hard worker. There are very few hard workers in the world, and I was fortunate to have three of them there on me every day. I just miss him, period. I know he has to move on and get on with his life. But if he had one more year, I know we’d have the national championship.

He’s one of a kind.

It was unfortunate people ripped him because he wasn’t putting up 15 points a game. But if they looked at film and saw on every play he was giving everything he had. If he had 50 percent left in the tank on this play, he’s going to give you all 50. If he’s got 80 the next play, he’s going to give you 80. If he’s got 100, you’ll get 110. That’s the way he is.

Jared, that’s my boy. I just miss seeing a friend everyday and clowning with him. You put him, me and Newton together, we were goofy. There wasn’t any telling what we might try to pull.

And he’s a competitor. People don’t know that. Sometimes talented guys get complacent, they don’t work. But Jared competed.

Jarrad was the same way. I miss his leadership. We use to think he was strict and stern but he had some insight. Odle is a great guy.

But I really miss Fife. I hope people say nice stuff about me when I’m gone, just like they do about him.