Why the number 634 matters to Nets rookie

For Taze (pronounced Tah-ZAY) Moore, there are a couple of numbers that define his basketball career. Yes, 48 is important. That ‘s his vertical max as defined in inches. He’s also tweeted that there weren’t 15 better players in the Draft even though he went undrafted.

But 634 is the one he likes to focus on. That’s the number of consecutive days that the 24-year-old had to sit out during his college years at Cal State Bakersfield. He later transferred to Houston.

“When you sit out for two years and then you come back into basketball kind of fresh, having to relearn how to walk and everything, I feel like you’re just grateful just to be around. So just to be in this situation, this just means everything to me, for real,” Moore told Brian Lewis. “I’m like a kid in a candy shop, honestly. That’s why I don’t really complain about too much. I just keep my head down and keep working.”

So far, the 6’6” wing hasn’t gotten much time on the court. He was a DNP-CD in Game 1 and played only two minutes in Game 2, but in that short time, he scored five points including a corner three.

Moore, who turned 24 at the end of last month, has survived five leg surgeries following an accident as a teenager.

“Five surgeries,” Moore told his hometown PaperCity. “They did everything. Taking out screws. Putting screws back in. Taking out bones in my hip (to help rebuild the leg).

“I promised God if he gave me another chance, I’d change. I wouldn’t be in my head as much. It really put me in a mood of doing better,” added Moore who had a reputation as a bit of a “hothead.” “I used to kick the chairs, yell at referees, stuff like that.”

Despite all the damage to what he calls his “million dollar leg,” Moore has max vertical measured at 47.5.” While raw offensively, Moore has potential as a defensive disruptor, the role he played at both Bakersfield and Houston. Maybe he winds up on Long Island but his current challenge is nothing compared to what he’s been through.

“[My lowest point] was probably my last surgery, because I thought if it didn’t work, I just wouldn’t hoop [any] more. I’ll just get my degree, keep my promise to my grandmother which is getting my degree, and figuring things out life-wise without basketball,” Moore said. “I was a Children and Family Studies major. If anything, if this doesn’t work [I’ll] be a social worker or counselor, something good.”

His grandmother died unfortunately at age 58 and her death is another motivation for Moore. He honors her with a tatoo, as he does a friend, Lonnie B. Jones who was gunned down at an apartment complex in his hometown of Southaven, Miss.

Alondes Williams, the Nets new two-way and Summer League teammate, knows Moore from dunk competitions.

“I don’t know, they must’ve turned him into Iron Man with that surgery,” Williams said. “That athleticism is crazy. Because I thought I was athletic, but he got it. His head be over the backboard.”

“Incredible story, great kid, just a pleasure to have around. It’s shocking to me that he was more athletic once because it is incredible how athletic he is. Super-exciting,” Nets summer league coach Adam Caporn told Lewis. “And it’s functional. He knows how to use it in games. He’s been a pleasure to have around and an exciting athlete. He’s going to do some cool things. It’s pretty crazy how athletic he is.”

As of now, Moore is waiting his turn, waiting to be challenged again.

“They just always tell me stay ready. I’m a big teammate kind of guy, so I’m not really worried about the position I’m in right now with the staying or playing,” Moore said. “I’m grateful to even be in and be in this position.”

• Taze Moore’s chance to make Nets ‘means everything’ after career-threatening injury - Brian Lewis - New York Post