Darius Morris first game- Open thread

Submitted by 615Wolverine on
Lakers vs Bulls tipoff 3:30 central time
Hopefully will see Darius in his first official game of year.

BlueintheLou

December 26th, 2011 at 3:39 AM ^

I hate to say it, because D-Mo was great last year and would be great for us this year, BUT, what would D-Mo be doing more than Burke is doing currently.

Trey's ability to knock down the triple could be a hug lynchpin in many games this year, which was something that really held D-Mo back from being a true star.

UMfan21

December 26th, 2011 at 11:43 AM ^

Better defense and probably a more consistent offense. Burke is phenomenal but he still lacks the experience Darius had nd I think sometimes it causes those dry spells
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<br>Also Darius was great in the 1-3-1 running the baseline due to his size. We haven't used the 1-3-1 much this year, but Burkes size would be a liability here.

yanksfan22413

December 25th, 2011 at 5:54 PM ^

He's inactive. Won't be seeing him today unfortunately..however, fellow 2nd round rookie PG Andrew Goudelock is active and has already been in, which probably isn't a good sign early on for Darius. But D-Mo is much bigger and is probably a better player in the long term so I'm not worried.

ak47

December 25th, 2011 at 7:48 PM ^

Goudelock can make it rain from the outside and can be instant offense in a way morris probably can't be, I love the guy and still think he made the right decision for himself, I just think the lakers are a terrible situation for him.

KAYSHIN15

December 25th, 2011 at 6:06 PM ^

foregoing college to a gig that pays you hundreds of thousands of dollars is a bad move, but in Daruis' case it may hold true. He was a virtual lock to be a 1st rd pick next year, but now I don't even believe his contract is fully guaranteed. To top it all off, the Lakers dressed 3 PG's today and he wasn't one of them. I know it's early but barring a trade that helps his status with the team or an injury, he's probably holding on to his roster spot by a thread.

BRCE

December 25th, 2011 at 8:24 PM ^

How are you "done with college" when you have as many things to improve in your game as Morris did? If that was his attitude, he's delusional.

I maintain that it was his newfound friend John Wall who made him think he was ready. Beilein wouldn't recruit a kid who would jump at the league the minute it seemed just faintly plausible. We ended up with a different person than we signed.

KAYSHIN15

December 25th, 2011 at 9:08 PM ^

Even watching him with the Lakers, he still had the same flaws. No left hand (totally unacceptable for an NBA pg) and no jumper. I hope he continues to work hard and improve, but I believe 100% that had he not hooked up with Wall he would still be at UM with much better draft stock.

BRCE

December 25th, 2011 at 9:29 PM ^

I totally forgot about how weak it was. Thank you.

Even if Morris thought he couldn't improve those areas of his game, I was shocked that he seemed to care so little about continuing the program's momentum and leading a potentially special group

redhousewolverine

December 26th, 2011 at 7:16 PM ^

No offense, but I don't think NBA scouts and GM's are going to be basing their decision on how many PG's we as fans can name off our heads. You aren't really evaluating the basketball draft process properly. He might not necessarily have improved his draft stock by staying. Many individuals with acute knowledge of the NBA and the draft process will tell you that staying can sometimes hurt your stock. Case in point Manny Harris: nearly identical stats to the year before, but "seemingly" has a rough or disappointing season and he goes from a potential first rounder to not being drafted. When it comes to basketball, athleticism and talent are already apparent in these kids from highschool (Kobes and Lebrons of the world). They do not necessarily need to go the college to get bigger in order to survive or learn the systems like the NFL. Go look at the 5 stars on Rivals; you will notice that many of them are drafted in the upcoming draft in the first round after their freshman year with a couple foreigners, seniors who developed, and a few sophomores or juniors. You have these elite kids who are already guaranteed spots in the NBA. Then last year with the lockout, and several of the top players elected to pass up the draft, for example, Doron Lamb, Terrence Jones, or Jared Sullinger. Those are all potentially guys who would push Morris's stock down, not to mention the entire 2011 recruiting class who will be eligible to be drafted. For example, Austin Rivers will be drafted in the first round and he would push down Morris's stock. Since there are only two rounds and a limited amount of premiere talent, teams don't necessarily draft their greatest need but the best talent present. Detroit missed out on the power forward they wanted last year, so instead of taking a lesser talented power forward, they took Brandon Knight (although they do need a PG but it is less a need than a good PF). Staying would have meant Darius would have been a guaranteed second round pick. He can improve his left hand or his jumper, but he will never have the elite quickness of a Derrick Rose which is really what he needs to become elite and spending 20 years in college won't change that. Also, what makes college a better place to improve your jumpshot or a left hand? Without classes or the NCAA and with top class teachers whose job is solely to guide the players to improvement, could't the NBA be a better place to develop?  If Darius stayed he probably would be staying until his senior season and with a shot of making the first round, I can't blame him for wanting to go. Darius might become a really good PG someday, but he will never be a Chris Paul or Derrick Rose and sometimes getting your shot at the NBA, to get a guaranteed contract and to make the team is something he has to do if he wants to play professionally. It wasn't a decision we had to weigh: our future as an athlete versus our committment to our school. You can complain he didn't prioritize the team, but he seemed pretty committed to Michigan while he played here. Not to mention Beilein can now tell recruits playing in his system can get you drafted in the NBA as Morris was his first player drafted. As evidenced by this year, Morris carried the team and help put us back on the map. Maybe we won't make the Final Four this year, but the attention he garnished has led to positive momentum: preseason ranking, praise for Beilein, great recruiting class (McGary). Morris is the vanguard who is leading us towards something great.

Also, adding several question marks instead of one doesn't give your point more emphasis.

ak47

December 25th, 2011 at 7:53 PM ^

Most borderline first round guys went because even if he is the 3rd best pg (not sure he would be) the class overall is going to be much deeper and morris wasn't going to have a better year than he did last year, his ast:to ratio was his strength and his last year and yeah that going up would have been nearly impossible, he wasn't moving up in the draft so he took his shot.

BRCE

December 25th, 2011 at 8:31 PM ^

Teams draft on eye test more than stats at the college level. He could have easily had a better junior season had he made significant improvement to his outside shot.

You aren't going to be an NBA point guard when your shooting range tops out at 17' unless you are a speed demon / defensive warrior. That's not D-Mo's game. 

panthera leo fututio

December 25th, 2011 at 9:31 PM ^

I do grant your point that Darius Morris still has plenty to improve upon to be a solid NBA point. Still, though, I don't think he's in a bad situation right now. With the age and lack of productivity of Fisher and Blake, combined with a brutally compacted schedule, I'd be very surprised if Morris doesn't get quality minutes at some point this year. And I'm definitely not going to second guess his decision -- he made a roster, and he's getting paid to focus full time on improving his game (which is hopefully what he's doing).

myblueheaven

December 25th, 2011 at 11:26 PM ^

well we got Trey Burke and he's no scrub sooo, me myself I am happy Darius chose the pros. It makes Beilien look good as player developer and Michigan basketball program more alluring to the GR3's and the McGary's of the world who have NBA aspirations and potential. I wish him well and am thankful for his contribution to Michigan because he has done more for the university then people are giving him credit for.

bouje13

December 25th, 2011 at 11:47 PM ^

Will there be a thread for every lakers game? And how is this more acceptable than what RRis doing out in Arizona? Because at least RR busted his ass and didn't just up and leave. (I still think it was smart on his part to go but where is the line drawn?)

Sac Fly

December 26th, 2011 at 10:54 AM ^

Manny Harris got cut. I guess he burned his foot in a cooling chamber at the Nike facility in Oregon and missed training camp, so they decided to move on without him.