Theres Moore To Mikki Than Basketball
by Matt Tumbleson
When Mikki Moore decides to hang up his sneakers for good he is not worried about what he will do with all of his newfound spare time. As a classic car collector, a reptile enthusiast and music aficionado, Moores diverse hobbies will be more than enough to do to occupy his time.
Moores interesting taste in passing the time all stem from when he was growing up as a kid in South Carolina, and although he isnt sure which of the three came first, he can point to the influences that helped spark his interest in each of his different hobbies.
I first started getting interested in snakes and other reptiles when I was a kid growing up playing in the woods in South Carolina and I would catch them in mason jars, he said. Id grab lizards, snakes, big grass hoppers; pretty much anything I could get my hands on.
The fondness of snakes and reptiles that developed as a kid worked out well for Moore, as he found that they made convenient pets for a professional athlete who is often on the road for weeks at a time.
I can feed a couple of rats to the snakes, put a hundred gold fish in the alligator tank and they are cool while I am gone, he said. I dont have to take them to a kennel, and I dont have to worry about someone coming in and taking care of them.
At the present time, Moore has six snakes, including two Burmese pythons, a rainbow boa, a Columbian Red Tail boa, a corn snake and a cobra tattoo that covers most of his right shoulder.
When he wasnt chasing snakes and other critters in the backwoods of South Carolina, Moore was honing his skills as a musician.
When I was growing up, I was short and fat, so even though I wanted to play basketball, nobody would let me, he said. I wanted to get a band scholarship for college so that my mom wouldnt have to pay for school, so I learned how to play any percussion instrument, the tuba and the trombone.
But then the summer between his ninth and tenth grade years in school plans changed for Moore, as he grew eight inches, and his basketball career took off. Even though he ended up going to Nebraska to play basketball instead of the bass drum in the Corn Huskers marching band, music has remained a major part of his life.
My brother Steven is starting a record company, he said. Im his main investor.
Reptiles and music have been a big part of his life since he was kid, but Moores real passion away from the basketball court is classic cars.
Much like his love for reptiles and music, Moores interest in cars began at an early age when he would help his uncle put together and take apart an assortment of cars.
Moores enthusiasm for cars has grown throughout the years, as he has bought and restored at least one classic car in each of the last five years. His current stable of cars includes a 1967 Lincoln Continental and a 1965 Impala SS. Moore would even like to start a car restoration business when he is done playing.
Once I cant get up and down the court, I will still be able to get underneath a car, Moore said.
Nets fans dont have to worry about Mikki giving up on hoops for any of his three very diverse hobbies anytime soon though.
I am most passionate about basketball, Moore said. I have dedicated my life to basketball.