Darius Morris Reportedly Staying In Draft
I wasn't sure how much credence to give this tweet by DraftExpress…
Darius Morris has decided to keep his name in the draft and will not be returning to Michigan, according to a source close to the situation.
…but UMHoops says he's legit, so he's legit. So… fuuuuuuu.
Those who leave will get fat contracts. Maybe.
I attended the game against NW this year where they gave out the 5 by 7 glossy photos of Darius to commemorate his triple double. I secretly referred to him as "Glossy" from then on. I needed more time to make that nickname happen!
<br>
<br>I wish him all the best.
will succeed in the NBA, success in the Lindsey Hunter kind of way, not in the Chris Paul kind of way. The thing is, from his perspective, what was going to happen in the next year that was going to change his perspective on what he is or is going to be. One could argue that never will his stock be this high again as opposed to one more year magically making him a lottery pick. He has NBA size, and he really is impressive getting into the lane and making things happen. That is what he would still be after one more year in college. Morris made a frustrating call for UM Hoops, but a good call for himself.
In other news, Trey Burke and Carlton Brundidge on campus soon. Help is on the way at guard. This is a blow to Michigan, but they are still a tourney team, and possibly more if one of Burke or Brundidge can go all Darius Morris this year.
Was a top 15 pick who had an outside shot and one of the quickest players in the League who played great defense. I'm not sure I'm seeing the comparison.
<br>
<br>And don't forget, Darius Morris didn't go all "Darius Morris" until his second year. (And let's not get crazy...he had become a good player, looking to make a leap next year, but he wasn't great...yet).
What makes you think that leaving College will put a stop to his development?
It's about winning, now. Coaches don't have the time (long term or short term) to develop players. Especially if they're not lottery picks with tons of raw talent. That's why they have developmental leagues and summer games. But guys who spend a lot of time there after their pre-rookie season don't usually have a great success rate.
But a number of guys seem to manage to improve. Durant didn't come out of college scoring 30 a game. Rose didn't come out playing at an MVP level. Many players develop every single year.
To take it out of the realm of "stars" - look at guys like Raymond Felton, Wilson Chandler, the Gasol brothers, Lamar Odom, Michael Conley, Zack Randolph...the list goes on.
All these guys added large parts of their game while in the NBA.
Morris has one very rare trait for a PG - his size. Some team is going to see that, see the work he put in last summer and how hungry he is to improve, and want him.
and if he makes it out of the first round, he is going to Miami. I can think of no other team in the league that could benefit as much from the skill set that Morris has than the heat. Crazy to say, but Darius Morris could make that team better right now. if he slips to the second round, D-Mo is taking his talents to South Beach.
Michael Conley - #4 pick overall
Raymond Felton - #5 pick overall
Lamar Odom - #4 pick overall
Zach Randolph - #19 pick overall (and only there because of "character issues")
Pau Gasol - #3 pick overall
Because you got us away from #1 picks Rose and Durant, we're "out of the realm of stars"?
That list does not "go on." You have two guys on that list from the second round in Chandler and Mark Gasol, and one of them went to my crappy, crappy Knicks and therefore had infinite room to do whatever the heck he wanted and to grow and the other has a famous brother who was killing it in the league.
Guys with these draft results have more attention focused on their development, are treated with more patience, and have many more opportunities to prove themselves.
If Darius goes this year where Conley, Felton, Odom or Gasol goes, I'll come to Chicago and wash your car.
If he goes where Randolph went, I'll even call this a good decision (barring exceptional workouts, I don't think he will).
The comparisons you are making don't really add much of anything to an understanding of Darius the player and Darius' process and decision, because they almost all seem to be significantly off-base.
Yes, players improve, because they get older, and work on their talents. Most of the guys you mention are high picks who can afford personal coaches and trainers who work on just their game in the off-season. But still, these examples are pretty weak.
If Durant didn't score 30 a game in college...well, it was college. They don't score nearly as many points in the game, less possessions, time, etc. And actually, he came pretty close. He scored 25.8 a game, and by the time he hit conference play, had UPPED it to 28.9. Rose didn't walk in as League MVP. Neither did Michael Jordan. But he was the top pick and talent in the draft. The comparison ends at "both can work on their game".
And most of the other guys you mention are lottery pick type talent. Odoms and Conley went #4. Paul Gasol was #3, and spent 4 years developing his game...in Europe. Randolph was lottery talent that slide because of questions on attitude and character. Even Felton was a #5 pick. I guess Chandler is a good goal, but big men take more time to develop than guards.
But really, all these guys have huge talent levels, and would be given time to let their skills reach their athletic potential because people spent high picks on them, and say their high upside. You don't hardly get the same consideration at the bottom of the first round or 2nd. If you can't help them now (in a game or in practice), you're gone. A college coach can afford to teach, because in most cases he's got security, or at least 3-4 years. Three years is a dream for an NBA coach. Coaches win titles and only last that long. Heck, if you coach for the Pistons, you're lucky to get a second year.
OK-So Lottery pick Darred Sullinger is coming back to school for Ohio and we lose Darius Morris to late first and possibly second round.
Thanks life-sounds fair.
comparison, not style of play. What I am trying to say is that Darius Morris is going to have the NBA career that he is going to have regardless of whether he stays another year of college. The Hunter comparison was to say that he will be effective, he will have strengths, and he will have moments. He is not going to be a dominant NBA player, ever, not next year, not in two years, not in ten years. And not if he comes back to Michigan for one more. My guess is that he is a late first rounder, and he is being told as much. If so, this is the right call.
But Lindsey was the #10 pick in the draft for a reason. And had the career of a #10 pick, pretty much. If Darius's game is to the point where he can get drafted there, great. But if he's going 20 picks lower, there's a reason for it. And even to achieve what Hunter did, Hunter was one o of the hardest workers, and an easy to get along with great teammate. That'd be a fine ceiling for Darius. But he's going to have to become a better player to reach it. Because Hunter made a lot more money over almost 17 years than one bottom of the first round contract will. Last longer than that, THEN it's a good decision.
Hope it works out for him, I just don't see him going that high in the draft. So sad to think of what might have been.....
What is the June 13th deadline that people were mentioning earlier in the process? I was originally under the impression that he could still return to school until this date, obviously if he hires an agent all dates are moot, but I thought we would still have more time for him to decide.
May 8th.
Look at all those other point guards he was playing in the Big Ten this past year and their NBA potential!
*crickets*
Let's pretend he could kind of stay in front of Kyrie Irving when Irving wasn't healthy.
*crickets*
Let's pretend this system wasn't totally made to inflate his assist numbers! Let's pretend he can overdribble in the nba like he did in college! Let's pretend 6'4" is really that big of an advantage in the NBA!
Bottom line is he's not a starter in the NBA. Not next year, probably not ever unless his jump shot explodes and he's actually good at defense and was just hiding it.
From there you have to ask yourself: why would an NBA coach put him on the floor?
Defense? No, unless he's totally been hiding something. In fact at this point it might keep him off the floor. I hope he's actually a much better defender when he isn't expending a ton of energy on offense.
Offense? I mean, he might be able to run a fast break and "facilitate" but he isn't scoring much and most backup point guards are scoring types who can get hot occasionally. Is being a facilitator and a "crafty" scorer here and there enough to stay on a roster?
Who knows maybe the kid is just super crafty and will go all Zach Randolph on the league even though he isn't very athletic. I hope so since he seems like a nice kid and played for Michigan. I'm pretty darn skeptical though.
Good luck, and sorry if this looks like sour grapes. I honestly watch more NBA than college (other than Michigan) and genuinely believe all of this. Michigan will be worse next year without Darius but that's not the real problem here.
but I wish him luck. I still think he's likely to do well in the NBA but his chances would have been better if he had waited and developed his game a bit more. As for Michigan, I sure hope Burke and Brundidge are ready to play right away. Michigan was a lock for the tourney with DMo but now it all depends on how a couple freshmen fill his shoes.
We all would like him back but this is his dream. Best of luck D MO!
I know its his dream and I respect his decision, but I think it would of made a big difference for him and the team if he would stay another year.
I should probably stop rooting for things sports related. If the wings loose tonight, shit is going down.
Let him know that his fans want him back..
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?sk=group_218780594815523
Will
and thanks for your efforts as a Wolverine. Go Blue
Fuuuuuuuccccckkkkk is right. Maybe he'll change his mind tonight...
Burke needs to be the real deal, and quickly.
Man, I would LOVE to see him back for 1 more year which I think could have been a big benefit to improving his game. A lot of this year's success was because of D-Mo, hopefully Burke or Brundidge can step up as Frosh.
I wish him the best in NBA & really hope he has a 1st round promise so this doesn't turn into a Marcus Taylor situation...
thats all I needed to see. As if he wasn't in Darius's ear.
I am certain that he's the second coming of Andre Miller. No game outside of 18-20 ft. but great court vision/instincts and a big guard who will be able to bully smaller guards down low. Neither Miller nor Morris' game will wow you, but both are very crafty around the rim and do a great job of creating shots for others.
Hindsight is 20/20, but I guess I can see why Morris would declare now. The 2012 NBA draft was always expected to be pretty loaded and with a lockout looming and scaring away the top 2011 talent, the 2012 draft becomes even stronger. Chances that Darius would be drafted in first round next year even with another great year at Michigan would be tough to determine. I hope for his sake he gets drafted in the first round this year as I'm fairly certain that second rounders aren't given guaranteed contracts.
Have msu. Thanks for everything.
<br>Go blue!
Nbadraft.net now has Morris at #23 in the first round.
Draftexpress has him as the 32nd overall prospect.
Looks like our boy is climbing.
Comments