Maya Moore is the centerpiece of the new Lynx mural on the skyway level of Target Center.

That didn't take long.

The Lynx took the University of Connecticut star with the No. 1 pick in the WNBA draft Monday. She and Amber Harris, a 6-5 forward from Xavier taken No. 4 overall by the Lynx, were at an afternoon news conference the next day. It was held a long pass away from the color painting of Moore.

Moore came across Tuesday as well-spoken, thoughtful and funny.

Known as a team leader at UConn, Moore said she knows her place as a rookie in a pro league. "Advice? I might not be able to speak this season," Moore said. "Yes, ma'am. No, ma'am. I will score for you. What do you need?"

Her audience laughed.

So Moore has a sense of humor as well as a sweet-looking three-point shot. Shooting from behind the arc was a Lynx weakness last season.

In several ways, Moore is uniquely prepared for the WNBA.

"I have been able to play with the national team and I played for one of the best coaches in the world," Moore said, referring to the Huskies' Geno Auriemma. "I know how to win. I know how to compete. That is the best thing I can bring in right now, just a competitive spirit."

Last fall she played on a United States team filled with WNBA players and coached by Auriemma. It won the 2010 women's world basketball championships in the Czech Republic.

"Those worlds, no doubt, gave her a glimpse of what she will experience," second-year Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve said. "But I don't think any rookie can be ready [for the WNBA] until they actually go through it.

"Not only do you have the bigger, faster, stronger aspect -- we have only 12 teams with 11 players -- the veterans, they know this league and they know to win in this league."

Moore's Huskies have won, too, at an amazing pace. UConn was 150-4 and won two NCAA titles in her four years in Storrs.

"I am not choosing my team for the first time in my life," said Moore, who averaged 22.8 points per game last season. "It is a new experience. I don't know some of the players and how the chemistry works -- that was big part of the success that I was able to have at Connecticut."

She will get to know her teammates better when practices start May 15; the regular-season opener is at Los Angeles on June 3.

"[Practice] is something I am looking forward to," Moore said. "I enjoyed practices at college. That is where you really get down and dirty and really get some development and see what you have."

Reeve already knows what she has in Moore.

"You can hear what makes her special," Reeve said. "The kid says she loves practice. It is one of those things that you say, 'Yes.' She is just very real and has great expectations of herself."

Perhaps to keep others' high hopes for Moore somewhat restrained, Reeve called her a candidate to be a starter when the Lynx open their season. Hmm.

What Reeve is sure of is that veterans such as Seimone Augustus won't mind sharing the basketball with Moore.

"Seimone has been a part of five years of not making the playoffs," Reeve said. "[Rebekkah] Brunson, Candice [Wiggins], these guys are winners. Anyone that can help their cause to be successful, they will recognize that is a good thing."

Moore said she feels a little bit like a college freshman again.

"You are kind of unsure of how it all works at first," Moore said, "but once we get on the court, all of that goes away and I am more comfortable. It is still basketball. It is still the same game."

Her first season at UConn, she quickly got into her comfort zone on the court.

"Probably by my second game," Moore said.