Kansas's Morris twins are stronger than you

Playing as freshmen in the Big XII really took a toll on the bodies of Marcus and Markieff Morris last season. Coming into school at 6'8", 225lb (Marcus) and 6'9", 230lb (Markieff), the two shed weight during the season, ending the year at 213lb and 210lb, respectively.

Well, the two decided to change that this year. You see, the Big XII is a physical conference, and losing that much weight not only takes a toll on how well you can battle big bodies in the paint, it also dimishes how much of a beating your body can withstand.

Basically, the Morris twins didn't want to get pushed around as much as sophomores.

So they went to Kansas strength coach Andrea Hudy and did something about it.

Mainly, they worked their tails off all summer.

I'm talking six-days-a-week, three or four times a day, doing weight-lifting and conditioning workouts.

And it has paid off. Marcus is up 23 lbs to 236, and Markieff has packed on 34 lbs of muscle, now tipping the scales at 244. Its good weight too. Markieff is parallel squatting 415, benching 275, and can hang clean 245. Marcus squats 405, benches 285, and hang cleans 245. Their verticals have also improved, going to 31" and 30" respectively. Those are impressive numbers for basketball players that admittedly hated working out before this summer.

So not only are the twins bigger and stronger, they are more athletic and explosive than a year ago. As you might imagine, this improvement in their bodies has also given them a confidence boost.

Here's a Sherron Collins quote from the LJWorld article:

I'd say they are 75 percent better than last year — how they look, attitude, everything. I'm very impressed (with) their body definition, the way they work on the court, especially pick-up (games). Last year, as coach Self said, they weren't rebounding above the rim. Now they are dunking and trying to finish everything above the rim. It's a big improvement.

With the Morris twins providing athleticism and energy on the glass and the defensive end alongside Collins and Cole Aldrich, the Jayhawks could be scary good next season.