Ledger-enquirer.com: Terence Morris works to move back to NBA

http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/mld/ledgerenquirer/sports/7314022.htm

Morris works to move back to NBA
Former Maryland player played 117 games with NBA's Rockets
BY DAMON LAWRENCE
Staff Writer

Terence Morris didn't give a bad assessment about his current situation in the National Basketball Development League, compared to life in the NBA.

The former Maryland standout spent the past two seasons with the Houston Rockets. He's spent the past two weeks in the NBDL, the NBA's minor league, with the Columbus Riverdragons.

"Everything is pretty much the same," he said. "The biggest difference is the bus rides. Now you have to leave a day early for the game."

The Riverdragons boarded the team bus and left town Thursday for tonight's season opener in Huntsville, Ala., against the Flight. Morris said he's prepared to deal with a season full of bus rides.

"My main focus is to be here all season and try to help this team go to the playoffs," he said. "It's really not a thing that I'm going to be disappointed about if I don't get called up."

Morris is in a good situation having already played in the NBA. Most of the players who have moved up already had NBA experience.

"When a lot of players do get to the NBA and are brought back down, some will take it and say, 'Hey, this ain't right. I need to be there (NBA),' " said Ryan Blake, assistant director of NBA scouting. "Others will take it and work harder to get back there by making themselves better players. Terence needs to have the attitude that he's going to use the opportunity to get better."

Morris was the 34th pick of the Atlanta Hawks in the 2001 NBA draft. The forward was traded to Houston and played in 117 games for the Rockets. He became a free agent after last season and wasn't retained by Houston.

Blake said Morris may not have to take many NBDL bus trips if he can make himself the "go-to-guy" for the Riverdragons.

"And I just don't mean the go-to-guy on offense," Blake said. "Is he going to be the type that's going to be a leader, the type an NBA team will look at and say, 'He can make a difference for us?' "

The most minutes Morris averaged during his NBA stint was 16.3 in his first season with the Rockets. That dropped to 12.9 minutes a game last season.

"I just want to be somewhere where I can get more time on the floor," he said.

Columbus coach Jeff Malone will give Morris that chance with the Riverdragons.

"A lot of what we're going to do will run through Terence Morris," said Malone, who took Morris with the second pick in the NBDL Draft. "We have a lot of different guys we can go to, but he's going to be our first option."

And that could help Morris follow Tremaine Fowlkes as the second Riverdragon to reach the NBA.