Legacy Revisited Comment Count

BiSB

JMoRecruitingJMoTrophy

Those Who Stay Will Be Champions, only we know that's not true. Maybe it's true in some metaphorical sense, but in terms of the record books, many have stayed and left empty-handed. Decades worth of seniors have walked off the court on Senior Day to a warm applause and a chanted name, but with neither rings on their fingers nor banners in the rafters. Fans faithfully applauded their play, their effort, and their loyalty. And they did so with genuine appreciation, but often with a vague sense of sadness. Not pity, of course; these were proud warriors who each left their marks on the program in their own ways. But sadness nonetheless.

Most college athletes also don't get the chance to walk off the court on their own terms. Some early-entrants get to choose when to move on, but for the majority their time in uniform is determined by the ticking clock of NCAA eligibility. From the day they step on campus, time ticks away, and wherever they are when it hits zero, that's the end. For the kids who have been put upon by the cruelties of college athletics, whether from injury, the unforgiving depth chart, or the zero-sum nature of sport, their departure evokes a sense of "not yet." The clock doesn't care if you tweaked an ulnar nerve, or if you have one more great game in you, or if you have that one thing left to do. When the music stops playing, wherever you are, you have to sit down.

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Jordan Morgan’s place in the firmament of Michigan basketball was set. He sat alongside Stu Douglass and Zack Novak in the realm of those who brought Michigan back. They were the scrappy insurgents. The relentless challengers to the Big Ten hierarchy. Their names would be uttered along with phrases like “laid the groundwork” and “revived the program.” They would be looked upon with great appreciation, and a wistful ‘remember when’ sentiment reserved for the Little Engines who do.

They weren’t the ones who could climb the mountain, of course. Such feats are left to the Trey Burkes of the world. But they would effort up the mountain nonetheless, and make others believe it was possible to reach the summit.

Morgan’s ascent reached its peak last year at Illinois. Early in the first half, he jumped to take a pass in the post, and his chapter of Michigan basketball ended in a heap on a distant orange floor.

It seemed unfair, but at the same time somehow inevitable. For many, Morgan was merely keeping the seat warm as they awaited the full and rapturous arrival of Mitch McGary. McGary was everything Morgan wasn’t; he was rangy and athletic, he had excellent hands and a soft shooting touch, and he had a diverse offensive game. And more importantly, he came in with the guru-approved bona fides proclaiming him to be the kind of guy around whom you can form a championship team. Basketball is, at the very upper echelons, a ‘Jimmys and Joes’ sport. It is a race for thoroughbreds, not workhorses. And as much fun as the 2012 team was, there was always something unsustainable about it. Talent brings stability. Talent brings banners. Talent builds programs.

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From the beginning, Jordan Morgan wasn’t brought in to bring Michigan to the next level. Truth be told, when Morgan committed to Michigan in December of 2007, Michigan didn’t have a level. They were in freefall, and to the extent a 10-22 season can have a “rough stretch,” Morgan committed in the middle of it.

Morgan was a lightly recruited, undersized center out of UofD Jesuit. He was the one of the first commitments John Beilein landed as Michigan’s head coach, beating out the likes of Oakland and Central Michigan for his services. And believe it or not, there was a time before Caris LeVert and Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway and Darius Morris when Michigan fans did not take the hidden but certain genius of John Beilein’s recruiting as fait accompli. Some questioned the offer, and few expected much, especially with the likes of Robin Benzing and Ben Cronin coming in ahead of him. All Michigan fans knew about Beilein and big men was Kevin Pittsnogle, and Jordan Morgan was most certainly not Kevin Pittsnogle.

However, because of Benzing’s eligibility issues and Cronin’s hip, Morgan found himself starting as a redshirt freshman in 2010-11. And all he did was score 9.2 points per game (third on the team) and shoot 62.7% from the field while grabbing 5.6 rebounds a game. It was quickly apparent that he was a master at executing the pick-and-roll, especially in concert with Darius Morris. Morgan had a knack for slipping the screen perfectly and converting. He was also a sound post defender and a physical presence on a team that desperately needed one. The biggest knock on Morgan was that he picked up cheap fouls. In other words, people were mad because he wasn’t on the court enough.

But then Morris left for the NBA. Morgan never quite found the same rhythm with Trey Burke, who was more of a creator off the dribble and relied less on ball screens. Often it was Morgan’s job to just get out of the way, or to clean up the pieces left in Burke's wake. The team flourished, and Morgan was a big part of it, but once again words like “ceiling” began to creep into peoples’ descriptions of the state of his game. Michigan needed a stretch big. They needed a McGary.

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Morgan returned to the lineup a couple of games after his injury at Illinois, but it was clear that his days were numbered. A bum ankle sapped his game, and something sapped his confidence. His production dipped, as did his minutes. And then came the event that seemed sure to define Jordan Morgan’s time at Michigan.

You see, legacies are not abstract. You can’t remember the hundreds of plays, good and bad, that a player made over his career. Instead, you need a moment in time that conflates what that player did and who that player was. He was the quiet unassuming guy who hit a shot to beat a hated rival. He was the gritty sparkplug whose aneurysm of leadership triggered a memorable tide-turning win. He was the bulldog who carried a team into the Elite Eight by the force of his will. For Morgan, that moment was one that threatened to etch itself in Michigan infamy from the moment it occurred. It demonstrated how far Morgan had helped to take Michigan, but at the same time suggested he couldn’t take them all the way.

“Remember when Jordan Morgan missed that tip?”

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Of course, that narrative is as stupid as it is myopic. There were dozens of reasons Michigan lost that game to Indiana, and Morgan's contributions far exceeded one agonizing roll of The Rock. He was the starting center and played over 24 minutes per game for a team that won the Big Ten two years ago. He notched a double-double and held Jared Sullinger largely in check during a program-lifting win over #9 Ohio State that year. And he was still the starting center when Michigan strolled into, and Morgan subsequently limped out of, Champaign as the #2 team in the country last year.

But complexity is the enemy of legacy. Bill Buckner wasn’t a career .289 hitter with over 2,700 career hits. He was the guy who booted that grounder. Chris Webber was among the best big men in Big Ten history, but his abilities on the basketball court are always the third thing mentioned. And I dare you to name two field goals Scott Norwood ever kicked.

So when Mitch McGary tore through the NCAA tournament like an over-exuberant puppy, and promptly announced that he would return to reprise that role as a sophomore, Morgan’s legacy was sealed. He would play as a senior, but he would be a role guy. A glue guy. A program guy. He would get a nice hand on Senior Day, of course, and there would be a genuine appreciation for his role. There would be mutterings in the crowd about engineering degrees, and about that Big Ten title, and about how it seemed he had been there forever. And about that missed tip.

Morgan could have done a lot of things this year. He could have transferred and been immediately eligible to play somewhere where he wouldn’t be behind a preseason All-American. Or he could have taken his engineering degree and started a career. Instead, he chose to stay and play.

And once again, Morgan found himself starting and playing the lion’s share of the minutes at center. The emergence of Nik Stauskas as the primary offensive weapon saw a return to the pick-and-roll days that treated Morgan so well as a freshman a hundred years ago. He remained Michigan’s best interior defender, as well as its best ball screen defender. He accumulated the fourth best offensive rebounding rate of anyone in the Big Ten and twelfth best defensive rebounding rate. He shot 67.4% from the field, easily the best on the team.

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There is something equally unfair, and yet strangely gratifying, about Jordan Morgan’s latest trip to Illinois. He returned to the spot of his apparent basketball swan song, this time not as the weak link but as the undisputed leader of a team poised to plant a flag firmly where it hadn’t waved in his lifetime. And sure enough, a few minutes in he was hurt stepping in to take a charge because he is Jordan Morgan (and not getting the call because, again, he is Jordan Morgan). He wasn’t needed on that night because his teammates buried the Illini early with an astonishing declaration of their undisputed arrival atop the Big Ten. And afterward, his teammates to a man insisted that the guy who scored four points in seven minutes hold the trophy and lead them in The Victors.

Morgan has never been 'the guy.' Darius Morris was the guy before Trey Burke was the guy before Nik Stauskas was the guy. But make no mistake: this is Jordan Morgan’s team. And his team has done something that no Michigan team for a generation has done. The 1989 NCAA Champions weren't Big Ten champions. The Fab Five never won a Big Ten Title. Rudy T never won a Big Ten Title. Neither did Robert Traylor or Louis Bullock or Manny Harris or Darius Morris. Jordan Morgan brought home two.

So now, on Saturday afternoon, Jordan Morgan will get what no Michigan senior in a long time has gotten: a victory lap. Others have walked to center court with better numbers, but no senior has done so with as complete a resume as Morgan in decades. So instead of simply applauding his heart and dedication and perseverance (a chorus that would be robust and well-deserved on its own), they can applaud his real, pen-on-paper accomplishments:

  • 134 games played (likely to pass Stu Douglass for the most games ever played in a Michigan uniform)
  • 112 games started
  • 2768 minutes (nearly two full days) on the court
  • 887 points on 62% shooting
  • 660 rebounds
  • A 98-39 record
  • Two Big Ten titles, including one outright title
  • Four consecutive NCAA appearances
  • One Final Four (thus far)

In a strange and somewhat incomprehensible twist on what seems like an old tradition, Michigan is once again playing a Senior Night that means almost nothing from a basketball standpoint. There is still a game to be played, of course, and of all people Jordan Morgan probably wants a win over Indiana as badly as anyone. But there is nothing to win tomorrow night, because Michigan has already claimed the high ground. Jordan Morgan gets a day to look around at the shiny new normal he helped to create, and to take his bow from atop the mountain.

"Remember when Mitch McGary went down and everyone panicked, but Michigan still won an outright Big Ten title?"

Comments

kleinorhino

March 7th, 2014 at 12:40 PM ^

Despite graduating in 2007, I can't claim much in terms of UM basketball fandom aside from putting my hands over my face and peeking at the box scores the following morning. Football was first. And so I'm relgated to a certain section of the basketbal homer bandwagon over the past four years, and I'll take my licks if you want to send em at me.

To me, reading about Morgan, and all he's done, is similar to reading about Mike Hart wanting to eventually come on to Hoke's staff as an RB coach. I re-read this peice and a small dude on a mountain top somewhere far down in my chest hits a gong. And I reverberate with a childish joy.

Before every do-or-die moment of my life over the past year (job interviews, marriage proposal, etc) I've watched Burke's three against Kansas to send it to overitme. No one can take that away from me.

But the roots of that feeling (that holy shit I am affirmed vis a vis the atheletic pursuits of these guys that went to the same school as me) come from guys like Morgan and Novak and Douglas. It's all connected, man. 

Raoul

March 7th, 2014 at 2:13 PM ^

In that list of accomplishments at the end is the 98 wins that Michigan has won during Morgan's playing career. That's close to the most ever for a Wolverine. Morgan was on the basketball radio show the other night, and Terry Mills said this came up during the reunion game for the 1989 national championship team. Mark Hughes (1985-89) holds the record currently at 104 games won. So there's a chance Morgan might equal or break this record.

Interestingly enough, Hughes, like Morgan, was a senior co-captain of the 1989 team.

sdogg1m

March 7th, 2014 at 12:47 PM ^

Did anyone else see the one player that stopped midway to the dressing room, who turned around and congratulated everyone else after the Illini game? That man was Jordan Morgan.

I hope the address announcer announces the lineup for the Indiana game like this: "Now starting for your undisputed Big 10 Champion Wolverines"

MMB 82

March 7th, 2014 at 12:48 PM ^

through injury

through expectations

through taking a back seat to the 5-star recruit

through the rebuilding of a program

through physical limitations

through stepping in and stepping up when called upon

through leadership

through getting a freakin' Engineering Degree.

 

You will be forever and always one of my favorite UM basketball players, and Michigan Man. I sincerely hope that everything that happens in your life is absolutely the best.

mgoback

March 7th, 2014 at 12:51 PM ^

It still hurts to see Morgan rolling his ankle. For those of you who'll watch the game in Chrisler Center, please show Morgan our deepest appreciation. 

moxiechicago

March 7th, 2014 at 12:53 PM ^

I think it would be great to have as many mgoblog users as possible sign this 

(via some online service) and email it to Jordan Morgan. Does anyone know if something like this is possible?

wayneandgarth

March 7th, 2014 at 12:55 PM ^

"887 points on 62% shooting" 

10 games remain

Indiana

3 B1G tourney

6 NCAA

 

Let's get J-Mo 11.3 pts per game and he gets to 1000.  If he can do that, that would go a long way to a Championship.

michgoblue

March 7th, 2014 at 1:13 PM ^

BiSB, this was easily the best thing I have read on this blog since the Bo tribute.  This is not to take away from the many awesome pieces posted here - there are many - but that piece was simply awesome.  You perfectly captured (1) J-Mo's career, and (2) what is so f'ing great about college sports.

Well done.

InterM

March 7th, 2014 at 1:16 PM ^

to a deserving Michigan student-athlete, in the best sense of that often-misused term.  Mark Snyder or Mike Rosenberg would be proud to have written a piece of this calibur.

Wait, you mean that's not a compliment?

J.

March 7th, 2014 at 4:36 PM ^

Back when men were men and a charge was a charge.  This would have been called a block under the current rules. :-( (Of course, Syracuse fans were sure it was a block last year too, but them's the breaks).  It was one hell of an ending to a great game, though.

Go Blue!

M-Dog

March 8th, 2014 at 11:37 AM ^

Yikes, that was reeeeeealy close.  It could have easily gone the other way.  I cringe every time I see it . . . "Please don't call a block, please don't call a block, please don't call a block".
 
I guess that's Karma for all of the fouls Morgan gets called on him for disturbing the air.
 

harmon98

March 7th, 2014 at 1:30 PM ^

The finest post I've read on any blog in quite some time. And for that, congrats BiSB. Bravo.

More importantly bravo to J Mo. He should be proud of his years in Ann Arbor. He'll leave with some championship rings and lots of fond memories.

AlwaysBlue

March 7th, 2014 at 1:33 PM ^

gets the same big time love tomorrow night. A Jor-dan Mor-gan, Jor-dan Mor-gan chant could be a beautiful thing. I am convinced upon repeated chants one is fully delivered from the dark days.

rowtheblue

March 7th, 2014 at 1:45 PM ^

Really, thank you for writing this. My attention to Michigan Basketball began around the time that Morgan came in, so this is just perfect.

Now I'll watch the Syracuse gif the rest of the day.

B-Nut-GoBlue

March 7th, 2014 at 1:51 PM ^

Loved the write-up.

My GF and I were watching BTN Finale after we'd gotten home from work Tuesday night.  The lockerroom scene from Michigan's outright Championship trophy being presented to them showed up on the screen.  My GF mentioned something or another about a player not named Morgan, after the announcers on the tele had mentioned something about a player or two, not named Morgan.  I THINK this is how it went, anyway.  But finally the screen showed J-Mo holding the trophy in the lockerrom and the rest of the team, like mentioned in BiSB's brilliant post describes, looks on with respect withheld excitement; I semi-exclaim, "Damn right...this is Jordan Morgan's team.  That's your team leader right there".

Swayze Howell Sheen

March 7th, 2014 at 1:49 PM ^

Very nicely done and really at Brian level which is saying something.

I do sometimes worry about the lionization of these players though; it is part of the culture of putting too much significance into young people playing sports that leads to some of the downsides we've seen over the past years both at UM and elsewhere. As much as it is hard to admit, the fact that articles like this exist is part of a problem as well as being something wonderful to behold and idealize.

Jordan Morgan has worked hard, and I root for him to succeed at UM and at life. But he's just playing basketball; it's not more than that.

</braces for negs>

:)

 

maizeonblueaction

March 7th, 2014 at 3:48 PM ^

you aren't wrong necessarily, but I wouldn't say I agree. I think the concern is that people think "Oh, player x is good at basketball, let's make him a hero simply because of that, and not hold him to the same standards that we hold 'normal' human beings to". I think the point of looking at someone like Jordan Morgan and lionizing him, as it were, is to say that he wasn't necessarily the guy with the NBA future who was fawned over, but rather, he got a little lost in between all the new talent that came in, which he was indirectly responsible for because he helped make the team relevant again.

The fact that he got overshadowed, and wasn't the go-to guy, but still stuck around and did his best for the team, and, as far as I know, was a stand-up guy, is what is worth honoring.

M-Dog

March 7th, 2014 at 4:47 PM ^

You may have a point, but not in this case.  I'm only going by gut feel, but I feel in my heart of hearts that Jordan Morgan is someone who we would lionize regardless of basketball.  

I think that is the point of the post.  There are "better" players.  And there are lesser players who have a "better" back-story.  But Jordan Morgan has managed to combine them both and go out a winner at the highest level as a both a person and a player.

 

CanadianMamba

March 7th, 2014 at 1:59 PM ^

What a guy.  This was a great write-up and it's going to be weird not seeing him on the court in the following years.  Let's hope we send him off in a big way :)



And can someone please embed the RIP Otto the Orange  gif?  Absolutely glorious

M-Dog

March 7th, 2014 at 5:02 PM ^

Jordan killed Otto the Orange!

This has to be added to his list of career accomplishments:

- 134 games played (likely to pass Stu Douglass for the most games ever played in a Michigan uniform)
 
- 112 games started
 
- 2768 minutes (nearly two full days) on the court
 
- 887 points on 62% shooting
 
- 660 rebounds
 
- A 98-39 record
 
- Two Big Ten titles, including one outright title
 
- Four consecutive NCAA appearances
 
- One Final Four (thus far)
 
- One dead giant Orange (thus far)
 

offskooring

March 7th, 2014 at 2:09 PM ^

i never sign in at work...but I have to say...Bravo!...BRAVO!!! to Jordan Morgan (and BiSB for this great write-up...it's a little dusty in the office now)

mGrowOld

March 7th, 2014 at 2:11 PM ^

BiSB you are clearly a fantastic writer and on a par with Brian in the ability to bring chills down my spine with your prose.

 "But there is nothing to win tomorrow night, because Michigan has already claimed the high ground. Jordan Morgan gets a day to look around at the shiny new normal he helped to create, and to take his bow from atop the mountain.

"Remember when Mitch McGary went down and everyone panicked, but Michigan still won an outright Big Ten title?"

That is breathtakingly good writing.  Thank you for composing this.

umich03jm

March 7th, 2014 at 2:25 PM ^

Most enjoyable post I've read on here in a very long time.  I even teared up a little.  I hope he gets remembered with some of the great ones from Michigan even though he won't have an NBA career. 

A long tournament run will solidify his legacy.

Blue Noise

March 7th, 2014 at 2:45 PM ^

Awesome, awesome work--both to BISB for this post and to Jordan Morgan's unforgettable Michigan basketball career.

...And that fantastic GIF of the dunk to seal victory against Syracuse.

UMinSF

March 7th, 2014 at 2:48 PM ^

Congratulations to you for a masterfully written tribute - and thank you Jordan!  His career at UM proves that the ideal of the Student-athlete isn't quite dead yet.

Avon Barksdale

March 7th, 2014 at 2:50 PM ^

Not going to lie, nearly teared up once or twice reading all that. It's just crazy how things can happen sometimes. 10-22 season when he committed, stuck around, did everything the right way, and now being rewarded for it.

mgowake

March 7th, 2014 at 3:06 PM ^

I remember watching and just saying THROW! IT! DOWN! and when he did, all I remember was losing my voice. JMo, after the missed tip totally redeemed himself in that Syracuse finale, IMO! 



Great piece on a great Wolverine!  Love this site!

Wendyk5

March 7th, 2014 at 3:10 PM ^

For some reason, I'm thinking you're an attorney (?) and it shows in your writing. Sometimes the headiness of Brian's DFW-inspired prose clouds my comprehension; yours, on the other hand, is illustrative and clear and lays out your argument in an entertainingly cohesive way. 

 

A+.