Ja Morant

[ultracapper]

B-Ball player at Murray St. I believe he's a sophomore.

Have you seen this kid? A Jordan-type athlete. Leads D-1 in assists per game. Attacks the hoop like a mad banshee.

Hopefully Murray St. makes the tournament so this kid can show off on the national stage. Projected as the 4th pick in the draft. Crazy hops.

[ultracapper]

Any questions?

STUD

4 dimes at the first TV timeout.

[ultracapper]

1st round vs Marquette he goes for 17 pts, 11 boards and 16 dimes. He took a total of 9 shots from the field.

He's good. Needs a little discipline with the ball, and it'll take a couple NBA years to get his defense up to snuff, but he's has all the athleticism needed to be anything.

[Valuist]

I saw them in the Ohio Valley title game vs Belmont. He does remind one of Curry; way overlooked simply due to his size. He is likely to go no lower than 2nd in the upcoming draft.

[Robert Fischer]

Good ballplayer.

Understands how to use the ball to manipulate defenders. Unselfish.

quick, smooth release , and he thinks a move ahead

good athlete

little bit of a 'tweener' body. Frame has room to add another 10+lbs with a professional program.

does remind a little of Steph Curry, but more of a distributor, than a high frequency 3-point shooter (although his 3pt game looks fine)

Can he play Point Guard in the league? Can he defend 2-Guards?

I like him. Rooting for him to do well in the tourny.

FSU Sat

[Robert Fischer]

Originally Posted by Robert Fischer

....

Understands how to use the ball to manipulate defenders. Unselfish.

......
......

little bit of a 'tweener' body. Frame has room to add another 10+lbs with a professional program.

.........

Can he play Point Guard in the league? Can he defend 2-Guards?

....
FSU Sat

That was a tough matchup vs. FSU...

FSU coach is either smart, or lucky... FSU had their defenders hold their position in the zone... Nobody for Morant to 'move'.

lineup of bigger, more physical players , offense and defense giving him no help.


He has a shot to be a good NBA player. He'll put on about 10-15lbs of muscle in a professional program. Can be a Wall/Westbrook if everything goes well.

Or he could be an undersized tweener guard who is a defensive liability.

He's (or was) the 'now' player, and maybe he will go #2 in the NBA Draft, but half of the NBA execs get scared to develop a player and grab a big man, letting these guys fall to #9 or so...

[reckless]

Something's been bugging me that I cannot put a finger on.

Where the hell was Frank Martin, South Carolina coach, when it comes to these two players?

Zion Williamson played ball in Spartanburg (SC) Day School and was Mr. Basketball as a senior. He grew up in South Carolina but was born in North Carolina.

Ja Morant was born in South Carolina and even played one year with Zion in an AAU setting.

College ball's two best players this season and Frank Martin couldn't recruit either one to play for the Gamecocks.

[metro]

Originally Posted by reckless

Something's been bugging me that I cannot put a finger on.

Where the hell was Frank Martin, South Carolina coach, when it comes to these two players?

Zion Williamson played ball in Spartanburg (SC) Day School and was Mr. Basketball as a senior. He grew up in South Carolina but was born in North Carolina.

Ja Morant was born in South Carolina and even played one year with Zion in an AAU setting.

College ball's two best players this season and Frank Martin couldn't recruit either one to play for the Gamecocks.

Murray State was the first school to offer Morant iirc and he stuck with them even after all the other schools came calling.

Williamson was a once in a life type prospect that was going to wind up at one of the top Nike schools regardless of where he grew up. South Carolina isn't a top Nike basketball school.

[Robert Fischer]

Originally Posted by metro

Williamson was a once in a life type prospect that was going to wind up at one of the top Nike schools regardless of where he grew up. South Carolina isn't a top Nike basketball school.

different eras, different styles, but Williamson reminds me of when UNLV had Larry Johnson. Dominance and aggression along with a good controlled game. About 6'5 6'6' or whatever, and one of the strongest and most athletic on the court.

Both of these dudes looked like men among boys, and defenders at times seem intimidated.

That position is a little tougher in the NBA due to the increased size and athleticism of defenders, but it will definitely translate at least on the about 20pts/10rebounds level as a feature, with plenty of entertaining dunks etc...

To be honest, I haven't watched these games enough to have any idea what kind of 'character' Zion has. He'll impress me if I tune in for a late round or championship game and he's doing some winning.

[reckless]

Originally Posted by metro

Murray State was the first school to offer Morant iirc and he stuck with them even after all the other schools came calling.

Williamson was a once in a life type prospect that was going to wind up at one of the top Nike schools regardless of where he grew up. South Carolina isn't a top Nike basketball school.

Thanks Metro on the Nike part of the equation. Makes more sense now.

Good to hear that Ja showed some quality and loyalty per Murray State.

[castaway01]

Originally Posted by reckless

Thanks Metro on the Nike part of the equation. Makes more sense now.

Good to hear that Ja showed some quality and loyalty per Murray State.

"Loyalty"....why should the player stay local when the local team would dump the player in two seconds if a better prospect came along? It's a business both ways.