Adam Morrison makes his seemingly weekly appearance on this site with another incredible 43 point performance, while players like Randy Foye, Marco Killingsworth, Corey Brewer, Shawne Williams, Cartier Martin, Reyshawn Terry make their debuts on this column.
Adam Morrison, 6-8, small forward, junior, Gonzaga
43 points, 5 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, 3 turnovers, 1 block, 39 minutes, 18-29 FG, 1-8 3P, 6-9 FT
Jonathan Givony
After writing an in-depth article about him just last week we were initially planning on giving someone else the spotlight for once, but Morrison left us absolutely no choice with the way he played Sunday night on national television against the Washington Huskies.
Its hard to say much more about Morrisons offensive beyond whats already been said here and in other places. He simply has an unbelievable knack for putting the ball in the basket at any given moment from anywhere on the court, in the toughest situations imaginable. With Gonzagas starting PG Derek Raivio out of the lineup for most of the game with an injury, Morrison was forced to handle the ball and create more offense for himself than even he is usually expected to. That didnt seem to bother him even one bit, as Morrison gladly took over his teams offense almost single-handedly and once again came up with one of the most impressive offensive displays weve ever seen at the college level, tying his career high of 43 points set just 10 days ago in Maui. This time he did it without three overtimes, though, and started off the game without any points in the first five minutes.
In terms of his NBA potential, there were quite a few notable things to take away from this game. One is the fact that he looked very comfortable creating his own shot against two of the top perimeter defenders in the country in Brandon Roy and Bobby Jones, almost strictly off the dribble and usually without the help of a screen. Jones in particular did a terrific job denying him space and forcing him into some incredibly tough shots, but Morrison continued to convert time after time as if he was by himself at the gym. His off the ball movement was as usual absolutely superb, and he took advantage of the fact that he was often being overplayed to make sharp cuts to the basket and get himself 9 shots right at the basket, all of which he converted. The second notable thing about Morrisons performance is the surprising athleticism he displayed around the basket. Morrison gets up quickly around the hoop and has a lot more bounce to his step than you would initially expect. Shaking a tall, long, strong and pesky defender like Bobby Jones is not an easy task, and Morrison did a fine job of doing so all night. The third is the fact that he is able to score even when his three point shot is not falling, something that we knew already considering his fairly poor percentages last year from behind the arc, but still impressive nevertheless considering that this is a part of his game that is only going to get better and better with the years considering his work ethic. Take away his 8 attempts from behind the arc, of which he only converted one, and Morrison was an incredible 17-21 on the night. Fourth would be his savvy. Much like players he resembles at times in Reggie Miller and Rip Hamilton, Morrison knows how to toe the line just enough to gain the advantage he needs on either end of the floor without picking up a foul. A little nudge on Bobby Jones to get him off-balance and force a turnover instead of an easy basket in transition, a little hug on Ryan Appleby to create confusion and come away with a steal and an easy layup after a made basket on the in-bounds play, or a slight tug on the jersey of his defender to give himself that extra second he needs coming off a curl to get his shot off; all were suddle but important plays that make Morrison the player he is.
Well try not to write about Morrison for the next week or so, but with the way hes playing lately, we cant promise anything.