Getting to know Marcus Morris - Your new Franchise player

And that is sort of what he looks like to me too, which would be awesome for the 14th pick in the draft.

I would love it if he were the next big thing, but with the negatives that the OP outlined in his original take, not overly quick, not a great leaper, not laterally explosive, he looks to be more in the role player mode.

But, that is why they play the games.

DD

 

Yeah he did. In his senior season playing 35 minutes a game. Marcus morris is scoring 17 points a game in his junior season playing 28 minutes a game though and shooting a higher percentage.

 

There's other things to be worried about, but draft position isn't one of them. Remember he was projected to go as high as 8 or 7 and i believe Houston was ready to take him at 8. It would be a bigger deal if he was in the late teens or 20s

 

So can we now safely predict that Morris will be DD's favorite player by game 3?

 

Well you clearly like him, let's hope you are right.

DD

 

I have liked the guy all along, just not seeing the "Franchise" ability that CX is talking about.

I think he may very well be our starting SF one day, but he has to show a lot more lateral quickness, IMO.

He sort of reminds me of a bigger Mike Harris.....

DD

 

i think a lot of you guys are seriously underrating his athleticism

 

Your talking about 17 points in 28 minutes as a Kansas Jayhawk also. Which is no small feat considering their play style and players dont typically score that much. His post up skills and jump shots are NBA translatable moves which I value more than some scoring stats at times. Sometimes to me some moves have to translate to the NBA. Turn around jumpers, driving to the basket, put backs, jumpers, range, and versatility scoring translates well to me for NBA players like that. We will see. Those are the things I look for in players like Morris and Derrick Williams who are similar.

 

KU and North Carolina are undeniably linked. They both run basically the same system. It is not designed to make one player dominate. There have been several Tar Heel and Jayhawk players that actually looked better in the NBA game once they left school because of the wide open space and more free-flowing style of the NBA. And this is what you are going to find out is the case with Marcus Morris. He played with a team that may have been capable of beating the Clippers on any given night, surrounded by a lot of good players. That hampers a guys individual stats and the showcasing of his entire game. And that's good actually. He's unselfish.

I don't know if I am as high on Marcus Morris as CX. But I am definitely convinced he is a player, a solid first year contributor, and a very serious upgrade at the SF spot. In my opinion, he will be the 2nd or 3rd leading scorer on this team this season. I can see him being a star in the league. Don't know if he can achieve Lebron/Melo/Pierce territory. But I know he will be a very good player and he will be good from the first moment he steps on the court. He's NBA ready and NBA talented and very driven with a huge heart. He's a winner.

 

Jopa,

That is true, that some players get undermined by the system they play in.....I hope this is the case, but usually those players do not drop to 14 in the draft, how many dominate types have gone in the teens in the draft?

DD

 

I wanna see this guy handle the ball. Is there any videos, other than the ones posted before in the GARM, that show his ball-handling? Surely doesn't look like theres much out there...

 

I found this video of Marcus prior to the Draft...


"I'm naturally a 3 man that can play the 4"

<iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/sQxt1bIO_gk?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

Again I agree with DDs assesment sort of though. Probably he falls within that range of the Kirk Heinrich roles of other players who had similar stats at Kansas. Very good player who can take Budingers job and be borderline allstar. He has allstar potential also.

 

Morris is exactly the kind of player who could be that good but drop, though. Athleticism and size are overvalued in the draft. Toughness, efficiency, and basketball IQ are all undervalued assets. Morris has all of those three things in spades.

 

I love your optimism. It is really nice to see positivity on these boards.

RotY though? Probably not. He has to compete with Budinger at the SF and Scola at the 4. I think the only way he becomes RotY is if he starts / plays significantly more minutes than those two.

Breaking out in the third year of the league is a possibility, but I can see him doing this in his second year. Chances are, he'll outplay Budinger, and by the end of this year, might take that starting 3 spot from him.

That third comment though; ehh, I can see us winning a 'ship in the next 10 years (what team-specific basketball fan wouldn't say this??), but I don't think Morris will be the main factor in that.

 

Perhaps not, but I bet by the middle of the season, no one will be hating on Morris.

 

<iframe width="560" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/okmxUF5gNcI" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

just some more of his play

 

Definitely.

He has that old man game in that his moves are more calculated rather than just trying to out quick his opponent.

You see that in the interview for the Warriors that he's more about using his mind to score.