NBA Draft Profiles: Darius Morris, Michigan

Bjorn Zetterberg of SwishScout.com will be helping us out with all of our NBA Draft Profiles this year. You can follow him on twitter @swishscout.

To browse through the latest prospect profiles, click here. To see a complete list of the players we have profiled, click here.

Stats: 15.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg, 6.7 apg, 2.9 t/o's, 25.0% 3PT

Age: 20, sophomore

Size:

• Listed: 6'5", 190 lb
• Official: 6'3.25" (no shoes), 6'5.25" (with shoes), 6'7.5" (wingspan), 8'6" (reach), 190 lb

Strengths: The NBA loves big point guards, and Morris is the biggest pure point guard in this draft. At over 6'5" in shoes, he has the size to disrupt on the defensive end of the floor and the strength to hold off a defender. He's not an overwhelming athlete like a Kyrie Irving or a Kemba Walker, but he is deceptively quick and understands how to use a change of pace. He's a very good ball handler as well. Morris also happens to be arguably the best pure passer in this draft class. He has terrific vision and a knack for getting the ball to his teammates in a position for them to be effective.

Weaknesses: The biggest knock on Morris is ability as a shooter. He finished his sophomore season as just a 25% three point shooter, a number which has to improve for him to become a starter in the NBA. He doesn't appear to be a great standstill shooter, and his shot selection off the dribble leaves something to be desired. He also turns the ball over at a fairly high rate -- 2.9 per game last season. While he doesn't appear to be a great decision maker, a lot of that can be attributed to the fact that he was the primary ball handler and play maker in Michigan's offense. The Wolverines relied on him to create off the dribble on an overwhelming majority of their offensive possessions, which forced him into situations where he had to over dribble, take tough shots, and make tough passes.

Comparisons:

• Best Case Scenario: Andre Miller. A classic PG who has a lot in common with Morris, as both love to post up smaller guards, have a solid midrange game, do an excellent job incorporating their team, and can’t hit the backside of a barn from 3-point range. Both are savvy playmakers who can carry their team during stretches if they must, but are pass first players who loves to set up their teammates.


• Worst Case Scenario: Poor man's Antonio Daniels. Bigger, athletic guard who has had a decent journeyman career in the league as a back up. Morris has potential, like Daniels did being the 4th overall pick back in 1997, but he also has to work to reach it if he wants to be the PG of the future for a team.

Outlook: Morris has the potential to be a starter in the NBA, but it will require some work. First and foremost, he is going to have to put in the work to make himself a consistent jump shooter. While his numbers are up from his freshman season, he still has a way to go before he can really be considered a true threat from the perimeter. Morris is also going to have to learn how to be more of a facilitator, taking a lesser role in the offense. He's not going to be a point guard of the Deron Williams or Chris Paul ilk, where the offense is centered around him. But there is no questioning his ability to create points and shots for himself and for his teammates, and that is a valuable skill to have. There is a spot for him in the NBA, and there was talk that he could have played himself into the back end of next year's lottery with a good year as a junior. If Morris can make those developments at the next level, he should have a bright future in front of him.

Draft Range: Late 1st Round

And the experts say...

• Chad Ford: "While he's not an elite athlete, he's quicker with the ball than you think and shows great control with his handle. Morris also showed off a terrific midrange jumper in drills. His NBA 3-point shot was solid but still needs work. 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."


• Draft Express: "Morris can become even a much more dangerous player if he can continue to improve as a perimeter shooter. His 3-point shooting is up slightly to 27.9% this season, from a miserable 18% as a freshman, and his free throw shooting has risen from 63% to 77%. Clearly he put in some work shooting the ball over the summer. With that said, he still has plenty of room for improvement. He isn't particularly effective as a shooter with his feet set, and while he's more comfortable shooting off the dribble, he still takes some bad shots and doesn't have great range. If he can become a reliable shooter from 3-point range, it should really open up his slashing game and make him an even tougher matchup for opposing point guards."


• Swish Scout: "Natural point guard with great size, build, court vision, passing, and creating ability off the dribble. Doesn’t have a great perimeter jumper and turns the ball over quite a bit, but Morris is an excellent penetrator who loves drive and post up smaller guards, and has all the makings of an NBA starter."

Highlights:




Continue reading...

Three keep their name in the draft

On Tuesday, three players decided officially to keep their names in the NBA draft pool.

Louisville's Terrence Jennings, Georgia Tech's Iman Shumpert, and Michigan's Darius Morris will all be forgoing the rest of their collegiate eligibility to remain in this year's draft. Here's a look at how those decision will affect their now-former teams:


Terrence Jennings, Louisville: Jennings decision to leave was probably a smart one. The Louisville junior has an NBA body and NBA athleticism, but he is a long way from proving he has an NBA post game. The problem with playing for a team like Louisville, however, is that he likely won't get many opportunities to showcase his ability in the post next season.

Rick Pitino likes to run. He likes to have his team's pressure the ball in the full court, get out in transition, and fire away from beyond the arc. His big men -- especially in the last few seasons -- have been asked to play the role of shot blockers and offensive rebounders. Jennings isn't going to be isolated on the post too often, which would mean that he won't have the opportunity to showcase any improvements he makes. And in the eyes of the NBA, if you're not improving, you're regressing with age.

Louisville will be alright next season. They return quite a bit of talent in their back court -- Kyle Kuric, Peyton Siva, Chris Smith -- and could see a couple of injured players return to the rotation in Jared Swopshire and Raheem Buckles. Throw in the emergence of Gorgui Dieng and an excellent recruiting class -- Wayne Blackshear, Zach Price, Chane Benahan -- and the Cardinals are loaded with talent.


Darius Morris, Michigan: Michigan will get hurt the worst of these three teams. The Wolverines were young and promising, especially down the stretch of last season. With essentially the entire roster returning from a team that won eight of their last 11 games to make the NCAA Tournament, and then came a Morris floater away from forcing overtime with Duke in the second round, much was to be expected of Michigan next season.

But Morris was the most important piece. He averaged over 15 ppg and almost 7 apg. He was the team's best scorer and best creator. He was the reason that players like Stu Douglass and Zak Novak were able to get open looks from beyond the arc. He's the reason Jordan Morgan got as many easy dunks around the rim. He was hands down the best playmaker, handing out quadruple the assists of anyone else on the team.

Without Morris, Tim Hardaway, Jr, is going to have to step up and become a star as a sophomore if John Beilein fancies the idea of getting to the NCAA Tournament again.


Iman Shumpert, Georgia Tech: Shumpert was far and away the best player for the Yellow Jackets last season. He led the team in scoring, rebounding, assists, and steals, which is a tough thing to do for a 6'5" guard.

If Shumpert had returned to Tech, things would have looked promising for the Yellow Jackets. While they only won five ACC games a year ago, they will still return six of their top eight scorers with Shumpert keeping his name in the draft. Glen Rice, Jr, and Brian Oliver both showed the potential to be big-time players, while Mfon Udofia should be a solid point guard to replace Shumpert.

Also joining the Aztecs with be Brandon Reed, a transfer from Arkansas State that averaged 15.1 ppg as a freshman. The issue for the Yellow Jackets, however, does not involve their back court. Kammeon Holsey and Daniel Miller return up front, but Brian Gregory will not have much scoring punch at his disposal inside.
Continue reading...