​Ricky Bell saw Andrew Moten play basketball long before Moten became a standout at Quincy Shanks High and the University of Florida.Bell, who arrived at Shanks in 1980, had the underclassman in a physical education class. When Bell divided students into basketball teams, he purposely paired Moten with less-skilled classmates.It still wasn’t enough to slow him down.“Nobody could beat him,” said Bell the head football coach at Leon High . “I mean, he’d win every time with whoever was on his team.”Bell eventually approached Shanks basketball coach Joseph Barnes about Moten, whom he described as “respectful, quiet and a great basketball player.”Moten would prove him right, developing into one of the most accomplished players in University of Florida history. The guard finished his career with 1,930 points, fourth on the Gators’ all-time scoring list, and helped UF reach the NCAA Tournament for the first time in 1987.That legacy came full circle this past weekend as Moten, 60, and former UF teammate Vernon Maxwell, known together as the “M&M Boys,” were among eight athletes inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame. On Saturday, they served together as honorary “Mr. Two Bits” at the Gators’ homecoming football game against South Carolina.”I believe in timing,” Moten told Florida Gators.com. “The timing for this was right.”Andrew Moten was also successful in basketball as a coach After UF, Moten played 15 seasons overseas before returning stateside to finish his degree online and coach high school basketball in his hometown. In 2017, he led West Gadsden High to the Class 1A state title. Moten currently remains employed by the Gadsden County school system. Jamal Holt had a front-row seat to Moten’s coaching career for more than a decade, working alongside him from their years at West Gadsden through the transition to Gadsden County High.What impressed Holt most was Moten’s willingness to demand from himself exactly what he demanded from his players. If practice started at 3 p.m., Holt said, Moten might arrive at 2 or 2:15 to make sure everything was ready.“Expectations are high, but he’s willing to match that with the energy that he wants from the players,” Holt said.That approach helped Moten establish something Holt believes became essential to the program’s success: consistency. Moten never wavered and the expectations never changed. Moten challenged his teams with difficult regular-season schedules designed to prepare them for the postseason, while defense became a cornerstone of the program.Holt said Moten’s greatest strength, however, might have been his ability to convince players they belonged.“He never let kids feel like they couldn’t compete or they couldn’t beat them,” Holt said. “It didn’t matter whether a player was a starter, the last player off the bench or still developing at the middle school or junior varsity level. He treated everybody the same with respect.”Che