Official announcement that Darius Morris will remain in draft.
Best of luck DMo ...
We could have had something special here in AA next year, but I can't fault you for trying to make a better life for yourself and your family.
Obviously there are many "ifs", but you could argue that a better life could be had ($$$) if he developed his game more before declaring. 2nd round or later means Jack in the NBA.
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<br>As much as I wish him success, I don't think he's seeing the bigger picture here.
you would think that going to U of M would give him the ability to make a more intelligent and logical decision. What is going on lately with atheletes being told they would benefit from another year, saying screw that, and then not getting drafted/drafted lower than they could have if they stayed? its unbelievable, i would like to sit down and ask him/warren/manny what they were thinking
Not surprised some dude who's screen name is" white pony" knows what it takes to get [drafted] higher.
Trey Burke, Come on Down!!!
As much as I wish Morris the best moving forward. This hurts. Damnit.
This one truly baffles me. Not because I dont think he can make it (tall point guards are VERY valuable in the NBA) but because everything i read screams NBA lock-out and no season next year. And Darius projects at best to be a late 1st-early 2nd round pick so he's not going to see the money the top picks get so why the rush? IMO he's exponentially better off staying in school, working on his mid-range jumper and left hand and coming out next year where he probably would be a lottery pick.
I wish him the best (and hope I'm wrong on all counts) but I cant help but think he's making a bad decision right now. Oh well....at least we'll always have "Get the fuck off my court" to remember....
does anyone know whether the d-league shuts down in the event of a lockout?
No it won't. Here is an article from ESPN that discusses the situation:
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=5820950
I believe that Tim Hardaway Jr will be able to carry our young team next year. Hopefully after an offseason of getting "beileined" he can make a similar sophomore jump that morris made last year (minus the whole leaving for the NBA thing). Morris leaving is a huge blow in the short term, but I think we will be able to role with the punches.
Go Blue
I think as pretty much everyone has said here, if he does get picked in the first round, there isn't really much to say about it. Its hard to fault him. If he doesn't get picked in the first round, I'm sure there will be plenty of 2nd guessing.
I really wish he would have come back - we would have been great, and he would have really benefitted from another year to work on his jump shot and his ability to go left.
have you seen Trey Burkes videos. That kid, although not ranked as high as others is something. Looking forward to watching him and Bundridge and Biefeldt.
Fly, Butterfly, be free. Good luck.
Beilein's system is apparently not an easy one for a PG to step into. I like Burke a lot but I think it will be hard for him to take over from day one. I think the expectations for next season have to be dramatically reduced.
You're just being realistic. I'd be surprised if Stu douglass weren't our starting PG for most if not all of next year.
I wish you the best even though you just ripped our hearts out.
I hope you get the best out of your draft workouts and look forward to seeing you at the next level.
Trey, here's the keys to the car...
Go Blue!
I hate the NBA.
It used to be that a guy would be an All-American and then leave for the NBA. Now, with all respect to Morris, guys leave after only showing the potential to be NBA players.
Just to be clear: I don't mean to knock Morris at all. He did great things for Michigan this year, and I wish him the best.
Hope you have a long and successful career. Time for everyone else to step up their games and take this team to the next level.
IMO he is going to regret this decision. He had a chance to do something special in a Michigan uniform and the NBA was always going to be there next year. I wish him the best.
Was a great year, really enjoyed M basketball for the first time in a long time. Still can't wait to see the team next year, but have every wish for your success in the NBA. You've done a great service to M and should be proud of your accomplishments.
The only way this one makes sense to me is if he has a promise from a team that they will take him in the first round. Otherwise, I don't get it at all. I hope Trey comes in ready to contribute, because we are going to need him in a major way next year.
early second round pick, good luck to the guy. if he works on his defense and jumpshot he will be legit
At least we still have Hardaway, Novak, and Burke coming in. Good luck Darius!
Morgan too!
I have to say that Beilein showed a lot of class in the article, too. It'd be really easy to be pissed at D Mo and talk a bunch of shit about him leaving or at least not be very effusive with praise (a la Pete Carroll when Sanchez bailed for the NFL), but Beilein seems truly supportive even though D Mo is shafting him at the same time. I like seeing a coach that puts the welfare of his players above team success (though IMO, Darius' welfare is best served by another year at Mich). Ah, well.
when the cba expires for the NBA? Also, if the players are locked-out, how will assignment rights to the DL work? I do not think people in his ear are educated on the disaster the NBA is going to be. NFL x 100000000000!!!!!!
I already posted a link above to an article about how this will affect the DL, if indeed there is a lockout in the NBA next year.
assigning stars like kobe and lebron to the DL. The DL will become a sham after the owners lockout the NBA players. If you do not think this you are crazy because the NBA is not in a positive cash flow situation like the NFL. So Darius is going to get drafted in round 2 and sit there doing nothing. What a waste of talent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Just remember...Play in 10 games your rookie season and you will have already had a better NBA career than Greg Oden.
Bot Oden got the high-pick money...big difference
Ryan Leaf got the high-pick money too. It doesn't mean he's earned it. Anyway, it will be great to see D-Mo have a great career while tosu's prized posession oden is a stiff.
I agree with you. I was just making the point that guys like Oden get the golden parachute when they bomb. If it doesn't go as planned for Morris he could get nothing. Oden and Leaf represent the problem with big first round contracts.
He spoke highly of him on The Journey.
I guess I'll have to play the role of the crochety old-school guy since nobody else is willing to.
Darius Morris would have really benefitted from another year to work on his University of Michigan degree.
This was not a good decision on his part for a number of reasons. The biggest of which he cost himself a ton of money by not waiting until next year when he really has a legit shot at being a 1st round pick. This year, he's lucky to get picked mid-2nd round. As much as he developed this year, his game is not NBA caliber yet. Still, I wish him the best of luck and I hope he proves me wrong.
Going forward, I think Trey Burke will be called to play a lot more, a lot sooner than he othewise would have. But, he will be a better point guard than Darius ultimately. This also means Stu Douglass will get more minutes this season than he would have - especially early on. Sure, this will hurt Michigan next year, but after that we'll be fine. And if there's a bright side to this, it frees up a scholarship for another good player in 2012 to go with the 2 really good guys we have so far.
Best of luck to Morris. Still think this is a mistake and all, but so be it. Kid played well here at UM and definitely helped to turn the culture around (along with Simms and Manny, amongst others). I just hope that he doesn't look back in a couple of years as he sits on the bench in Des Moines Iowa or Yuma Washington and wonder what could have been.
tough...
I wish the kid luck, of course, but I'm a little bitter about this (not that it matters). I wish the team player in him would win out and say "ya know, I think we are going to be really good next year". Let's get Brundidge and Burke ready to go.
I think it's a bad move, but best of luck anyway.
I've pretty much come to expect bad news like this. :(
I think it's weird that so many people assume -- based on no first-hand information -- that Darius is making a decision against his true best interests for whatever reason (impatience, greed, an overly credulous relationship with agents, etc.). I don't have any access to Darius's decision-making process either, but I think it's mighty condescending to assume that he's acting stupidly. While it's entirely possible that the decision to leave was based on unwise motivations, it's also possible that Darius is doing what he has good reason to believe is in the best long-term interest of himself and his family. One potential good reason: the likely and universaly known work stoppage next year is also having the effect of making next year's likely draft class much deeper than this year's. There's probably a good case to be made that Darius has a better shot of squeeking into the first round this year than next.
to him but I hope this doesn't turn out to be one of the worst decisions of his life.
He obviously has people in his ear that do not have his best interest at heart.
Yes, terrible decision. Terrible, terrible.
D-Mo will surely be missed but I don't think this team takes a huge step back (maybe a step sideways?). Are recruiting is on the upswing and the players we have should all get better save for Novak and maybe Douglas who might have peaked already.
If we shoot well, we'll still be able to beat anyone
I would have loved to see Morris develop a little more here in Ann Arbor before chancing the draft, but I wish him the best. We will miss him.
That being said, I do wonder why anyone would commit to the draft with a lockout in the NBA seemingly likely....
Pistons draft him. We could use a pg. Best of luck!
had a lot of fun watching him play this year. i think he would have been so much better if he stayed but now he will be coached by most likely a playoff team's coach and will improve much quicker learning from a NBA coach then being in college. Hope he is the next Derrick Rose and leads his team to the playoffs every year. I think our team will still be good next year with 2 very good guards coming in and with THJ taking over