Darius Morris NBA sleeper pick...(NBA draft preview)

Submitted by CHI_BLU on

Zach Harper, Daily Dime Live: Darius Morris from Michigan could end up being a huge sleeper toward the last third of the first round.

 

ESPN LINK

SanDiegoWolverine

May 17th, 2011 at 1:04 PM ^

He's is a score first point guard who has showed the leadership to run a team but he is much more Tony Parker than he is Chris Paul.  That being said I think he has the chance to develop into a pass first point guard as he matures.

coldnjl

May 17th, 2011 at 12:46 PM ^

This statement is true, but from a neutral observer (which I am obviously not one), he is a combo point guard with only one true hand....The title you give him of either having high upside of tough sleading early on will dictate where and how high he goes

SanDiegoWolverine

May 17th, 2011 at 1:01 PM ^

Rajon Rondo, Kidd, Deron Williams, Derek Rose, Jrue Holiday, John Wall, Kirk Hinrich, Billups, Westbrook, Stuckey, Andre Miller, and George Hill all can hold their own against shooting guards and some of them defend them (or did) quite well.  Although some of these guys are combo guards the fact that they are tall enough or athletic enough to guard 2 positions doesn't make them combo guards.

jmblue

May 17th, 2011 at 12:39 PM ^

Why would he have more one-on-one work with coaches in college?  NBA rosters are no bigger than NCAA ones, and they have unlimited practice time, not to mention a longer season.  And obviously, he'll be going up against much better competition in practice and in games.  

When scouts talk about how a kid should come back to school to develop, it's not that they think the player can't develop in the pros, but that they aren't sure he'll be drafted highly enough for his NBA team to take an interest in his development.  That doesn't seem to be a concern here.   

Dizzo

May 17th, 2011 at 11:44 AM ^

I wonder why this writer calls him a "sleeper" when he's showing up in multiple mock drafts in the first round already?  Calling Christian Ponder a sleeper to be picked in the top-15 makes sense, but a guy a lot of people are saying will be a first round pick doesn't fit my understanding of that term.

JeepinBen

May 17th, 2011 at 11:46 AM ^

http://insider.espn.go.com/nba/draft/results/players/_/id/19620/darius-morris

Wont post too much premium content, but :

"But since Morris declared on Wednesday, their assessment has gotten rosier. Morris has improved dramatically since high school and may be the most improved player in college basketball. NBA executives tend to love big point guards, and Morris is the biggest true point guard in the draft. 

That was noticeable the second we walked in the gym. Morris is a legit 6-foot-5 in shoes. He has broad shoulders and has a power game that's reminiscent of a young Andre Miller. Anyone who has watched Morris play knows he can make the spectacular pass and really knows how to run a team. The question marks are around his jump shot and his lateral quickness. 

Morris has elite size and may have the best court vision of anyone in the draft. Add in his defensive abilities and a great, supportive family background, and I can see Morris sticking in the first round. We currently have him as the sixth point guard off the board and have him going to the Houston Rockets at the 23rd pick in our first full mock draft of the year. "

Dunno why he says Portland/21 vs. Houston 23 on the same page, but yeah

ish

May 17th, 2011 at 11:51 AM ^

is that he should've stayed:

Patrick Hayes, PistonPowered: Two fringe first-round guys who could fall into the second, Nikola Vucevic, a junior out of USC, and Morris. As it stands, both could turn out to be steals in the late 20s or early second round. One more year in school, and both would be first-round locks.

Tater

May 17th, 2011 at 12:03 PM ^

It is extremely important that Morris gets a first round contract.  Not only is the money guaranteed, but better coaching is guaranteed in a de facto sense, because the team has more to lose if he doesn't make it.  

As far as treatment goes, first rounders are steak; second rounders are hamburger.  That's not to say that second rounders and FA's can't make it, but they sure have to work a lot harder and go through a lot more crap either way.

JBE

May 17th, 2011 at 12:11 PM ^

This draft doesn't have top heavy talent, and it's actually pretty terrible overall, so I think Morris has a really good shot of hitting the mid to late first round area.

Lampuki22

May 17th, 2011 at 1:26 PM ^

 was over this weekend and was slamming Morris for entering the draft with no shot and no left hand and all I could say was

 

GTFO of my house!

i also took the opportunity to critize Izzo for having to "hire" grad student mercenaries (kid from Valpo)  after completely losing his team this year and getting owned by Michigan.    

 

Trey Burke will make us largely forget about D Mo next year if not sooner.   The tide has turned.  

 

 

bryemye

May 17th, 2011 at 6:46 PM ^

I'm happy for Darius that it looks like he's going to get drafted in the first round and get paid. I stand by my skepticism of his potential for a good career because of a potential lack of game experience long-term. Being a "sleeper" in a very low talent draft feels like journalists reaching to me.

Good luck to the kid. I hope he does well and that I'm wrong.

Hail Beilein

May 17th, 2011 at 9:22 PM ^

for the Pistons and take him in the lottery. We need an actual point guard. And Darius is huge, something all the one on one coaching in the world couldn't acquire. Help defense is good enough (on most teams) in the NBA that his lack of lateral quickness can be de-emphasized. Joe, please draft your son's college teammate. Then send the maintenance guy up into the rafters to get your #4 down and let DMo rock it.