This is a good article. Click here for more information.

Darius Morris

From Infogalactic: the planetary knowledge core
Jump to: navigation, search
Darius Morris
File:20101130 Darius Morris drives on Cory Stanton.jpg
Morris drives on Cory Stanton, November 30, 2010
No. 15 – Rio Grande Valley Vipers
Position Point guard
League NBA Development League
Personal information
Born (1991-01-03) January 3, 1991 (age 33)
Los Angeles, California
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m)
Listed weight 190 lb (86 kg)
Career information
High school Windward School
(Los Angeles, California)
College Michigan (2009–2011)
NBA draft 2011 / Round: 2 / Pick: 41st overall
Selected by the Los Angeles Lakers
Playing career 2011–present
Career history
2011–2013 Los Angeles Lakers
2012–2013 →Los Angeles D-Fenders (D-League)
2013 Philadelphia 76ers
2014 Los Angeles Clippers
2014 Memphis Grizzlies
2014 Rio Grande Valley Vipers (D-League)
2014–2015 Brooklyn Nets
2016–present Rio Grande Valley Vipers (D-League)
Career highlights and awards
Stats at NBA.com
Stats at Basketball-Reference.com

Darius Aaron Morris (born January 3, 1991) is an American professional basketball player for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League. Morris was selected as the 41st pick in the 2011 NBA draft by the Los Angeles Lakers and plays the point guard position. He has also played for the Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, Los Angeles Clippers and Memphis Grizzlies of the NBA as well as the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA D-League. With the Vipers, he established a D-League playoff single-game assists record in 2014.

Morris spent two seasons with the Michigan Wolverines basketball team. While playing for the 2010–11 team, he was the Big Ten assists leader and set the Michigan single-season assist record (since broken by Trey Burke). He earned third team All-Big Ten honors his sophomore season.

Prior to attending Michigan, Morris led Windward School to the 2009 California state championship while earning the California Interscholastic Federation (CIF) Southern Section John Wooden High School Player of the Year Award. He was a 2010–11 All-Big Ten 3rd team selection by the coaches and the media. The National Association of Basketball Coaches named him as a 2nd team All-District selection for the district composed of Big Ten schools.

High school career

Morris was raised in Carson, California.[1] In high school, Morris, the son of Dewayne Sr. and Robin Morris, attended Windward School.[2] As a brash freshman, Morris promised the media that he would be able to dunk and lead Windward to a state championship before he graduated.[1] Morris was invited to numerous All-star basketball camps hosted by LeBron James, Steve Nash, the National Basketball Players Association and Nike. He was twice selected as a first-team All-State player in California. He was also named the MVP of numerous tournaments and invited to participate in numerous all-star games, including the Academic All-American Classic.[2] Morris' father worked for the United States Postal Service office in Venice.[1]

As a senior, Morris led Windward High School to the California Division V state title, posting a game-high 25 points, eight rebounds and four assists in the championship game.[2] Darius Morris was named the MVP of Olympic League, CIF Division 5A Southern Section Player of Year,[3] and CIF Division 5A State Player of Year. Also Darius was awarded a John Wooden High School Player of the Year Award,[4] received by Jrue Holiday the year before.[5] He was ranked as the 11th, 15th and 20th best high school basketball point guard in the nation by ESPN, Rivals.com and Scout.com, respectively.[6][7][8] Rivals and ESPN included him on their lists of best overall basketball players at 77th and 100th, respectively.[7][8]

Name Home town High school / college Height Weight Commit date
Darius Morris
PG		 Los Angeles, California Windward School (CA) 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Aug 11, 2008 
Scout:3/5 stars   Rivals:4/5 stars   247Sports: N/A    ESPN grade: 90
Overall recruiting rankings: Scout: 20 (PG)   Rivals: 77, 15 (PG)  ESPN: 100, 11 (PG)
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  • Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

College career

200px
200px
Morris against the 2009-10 Kansas Jayhawks, December 19, 2009

As a freshman with the 2009–10 team, Morris averaged 4.4 points and 2.6 assist per game on 24.3 minutes of playing time per game.[9] On November 14, Morris began the season for #15 ranked Wolverines in the starting lineup, posting 11 points and 5 assists against Northern Michigan.[10] He had a season-high 7 assists against Northwestern on January 10, 2010.[11][12]

On December 23, 2010, Morris was one of three Wolverines to make 4 three point shots as the team set a school single-game record by making 16 against Bryant University.[13][14] He also had 12 assists on his way to a double-double.[13] On December 27, 2010, the Big Ten Conference named Morris player of the week.[15] Ann Arbor media felt his omission from the 67-man 2011 Bob Cousy Award watchlist was a surpise.[16][17] Morris repeated as (co-)player of the week on January 31, 2011 sharing the award with Talor Battle, after becoming the third Michigan Wolverines men's basketball player (following Gary Grant and Manny Harris) to record a triple double.[18][19] On February 1, 2011, The Wall Street Journal calculated that Morris was by far the most valuable player to his team among major conference players because his combined assists and field goals account for over 53% of his team's points.[20]


Michigan Wolverines men's basketball
Single-season 200 Assist Club
Player Season Games Assists
Trey Burke 2012–13 39 260
Darius Morris 2010–11 35 235
Gary Grant 1987–88 34 234
Rumeal Robinson 1988–89 37 233

Morris established a new Michigan single-season assists record during the 2011 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament (235 in 35 games).[21] The previous highest single-season assists totals in Michigan history were by Gary Grant (234 in 34 games, 1987–88) and Rumeal Robinson (233 in 37 games, 1988–89).[22] His average of 6.71 assists per game led the Big Ten Conference.[23] For the season, Morris also led the 2010–11 team in points per game and steals per game.[24]

Following the 2010–11 Big Ten Conference men's basketball season, Darius Morris was selected as a third team All-Big Ten selection by both the conference's coaches and the conference's media.[25][26] Morris was also a National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Division I District 7 All‐District second team choice.[27] Since the Big Ten Conference is its own district, this is equivalent to being named second team All-Big Ten by the NABC.[28]

Following the season, Morris sought the advice of the NBA's undergraduate advisory committee to determine his draft prospects.[29] On May 4, Morris announced his final decision not to withdraw his name prior to the May 8 deadline and to enter the June 23, 2011 NBA Draft.[30][31][32]

Professional career

2011–12 season

ESPN's Chad Ford described Morris at 6 feet 5 inches (1.96 m) as the biggest true point guard in the draft.[33] Morris was selected by his hometown Los Angeles Lakers in the second round of the 2011 NBA Draft with the 41st overall selection.[34] In the week prior to the beginning of the 2011–12 NBA season, Morris appeared along with teammates Derek Fisher, Steve Blake and Matt Barnes on the December 22 season 1 finale of The X Factor during a performance by 50 Cent.[35] On January 11, he played 13 minutes against Utah in his first game for the Lakers, contributing his first four points, his first two assists and first rebound.[36][37] The game went to overtime and marked the Lakers' first road victory of the season in four attempts.[38] Morris began seeing action as Blake endured a costrochaondral fracture of the cartilage that connects the rib to the sternum in subsequent games.[39] Morris stayed in the main rotation for seven games during Blake's rib injury before returning to a limited role.[40] On March 7, 2012, Morris was assigned to the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA D-League.[41] Morris debuted for the Defenders with 21 points on March 10.[42] He was recalled by the Lakers on March 16, 2012.[43] On April 26, against the Sacramento Kings in the last game of the regular season, Morris tallied 9 points and 5 assists.[44][45]

2012–13 season

Morris agreed to re-sign with the Lakers on July 2, 2012 and was named to the Lakers team for the July 13–22 Las Vegas NBA Summer League.[40][46] During the Summer League, Morris led the Lakers in scoring and assists.[47] On November 9, 2012, Darius Morris recorded 10 points, a career-high 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 1 steal in a 101–77 Lakers win over the Golden State, backing up Blake, while Steve Nash was injured.[48] On November 13, with both Blake and Nash injured, Morris made his first career start against the San Antonio Spurs.[49] As a starter, Morris posted career highs of 31 minutes and 6 assists on November 16 against the Phoenix Suns.[50] On December 4, Chris Duhon overtook Morris as the replacement starter.[51] On December 16, Morris posted a career-high 15 points against the Philadelphia 76ers.[52] A few nights later, Kobe Bryant praised him for his defensive effort.[53] When Nash returned to the starting lineup on December 22, Morris started in place of Metta World Peace, who came off the bench.[54][55] This was part of a common strategy employed by Lakers head coach Mike D'Antoni to play players out of position.[56] While a starter, Morris' responsibility was to defend against the opponents' most dangerous perimeter player.[57] On January 4, World Peace returned to the starting lineup in Morris' place.[58] Then in late January, Jodie Meeks replaced Morris in the rotation as Blake also returned to the rotation.[59][60]

On March 7, 2013, Morris was reassigned to the Los Angeles D-Fenders.[61][62] He played for the D-Fenders on March 9, scoring 21 points and adding 6 rebounds, 2 assists and a steal.[63] He was recalled on March 9, 2013.[64] On April 3, 2013, the Lakers sent him to the D-Fenders once again.[65] He was recalled the next day.[66] On April 26 in the 2013 NBA Playoffs against the San Antonio Spurs, with Bryant, Nash, Blake and Meeks sidelined,[67] Morris had his best day as a pro,[68] tallying 24 points and 6 assists in a starting role.[69][70]

On June 28, the Lakers decided that they would not make Morris the $1.2 million qualifying offer prior to the July 1 deadline that would have been necessary to make him a restricted free agent. Although the team expressed interest in re-signing Morris at a lower priced contract and having him represent the team again in the summer league, he would become an unrestricted free agent at the deadline because the qualifying offer was not made.[71]

2013–14 season

On September 27, 2013, Morris signed with the Philadelphia 76ers.[72] As the September 28 training camp date approached, Morris was expected to battle with Tony Wroten for the backup point guard position behind Michael Carter-Williams.[73] When Carter-Williams missed games, it was Wroten who moved into the starting lineup.[74] On November 16, 2013 he scored a NBA regular season career high 20 points along with 2 assists in a 135–98-point loss to the New Orleans Pelicans.[75] On November 20, 2013, he was waived by the 76ers as part of roster moves that included signing Elliot Williams and Lorenzo Brown and waiving Kwame Brown.[76][77] In December, he was one of several guards to work out with the Memphis Grizzlies.[78] That month, he was also considered by the Los Angeles Lakers when Kobe Bryant was injured since point guards Blake, Nash and Jordan Farmar were all injured.[79] The Lakers, however, decided to sign Kendall Marshall who was averageing 19.4 points and 9.6 assists in the D-League at the time.[80]

On January 6, 2014, Morris signed a 10-day contract with the Los Angeles Clippers after Chris Paul suffered a separated shoulder.[81][82] Later that same day, Morris played his first game for the Clippers, logging 8 minutes off the bench in a 101-81 win over the Orlando Magic, as Morris scored his first point as a Clipper off of a free throw.[83] On January 16, Morris signed a second 10-day contract with the Clippers.[84] On January 26, his second 10-day contract expired and the Clippers decided not to sign him for the rest of the season.[85][86][87]

On February 3, 2014, Morris signed a 10-day contract with the Memphis Grizzlies.[88] Mike Conley, Jr. had been injured and Jerryd Bayless had been recently traded, leaving the team short at point guard.[89] On February 13, 2014, the Grizzlies did not offer him a second 10-day contract after his first 10-day contract expired.

On March 17, 2014, Morris was acquired by the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA D-League.[90][91] On March 20, he posted his first professional double-double with 21 points and 10 assists against the Bakersfield Jam.[92] Morris posted 31 points on March 21 against the Austin Toros.[93] On April 12, Morris posted 51 points and 18 assists in an overtime playoff loss to the Iowa Energy.[94] The performance established a D-League single-game playoff record for assists and was the second highest all-time single-game playoff point total.[95]

2014–15 season

In July 2014, Morris joined the San Antonio Spurs for the 2014 NBA Summer League.[96][97][98] On September 24, 2014, he signed with the Portland Trail Blazers.[99] However, he was later waived by the Trail Blazers on October 25, 2014.[100][101] On December 11, 2014, the Brooklyn Nets made a two-for-one trade clearing a space on their roster.[102] Morris signed with the team that day[103] and made his debut for them the next day, recording two points and one assist in the 88-70 win over the Philadelphia 76ers.[104] On June 29, he was waived by the Nets.[105]

2015–16 season

On March 29, 2016, Morris was reacquired by the Rio Grande Valley Vipers.[106] That night, he made his season debut in a 118–97 win over the Oklahoma City Blue, recording nine points, three rebounds, four assists and two steals in 24 minutes off the bench.[107]

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

Regular season

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2011–12 L.A. Lakers 19 0 8.9 .429 .444 .667 .8 1.1 .1 .0 2.4
2012–13 L.A. Lakers 48 17 14.2 .388 .364 .649 1.2 1.6 .4 .0 4.0
2013–14 Philadelphia 12 0 16.1 .433 .417 .714 1.1 2.6 .7 .0 6.9
2013–14 L.A. Clippers 10 0 5.4 .308 .000 .500 .5 .5 .2 .0 .9
2013–14 Memphis 5 0 13.2 .375 .286 .333 1.6 1.6 .6 .0 3.0
2014–15 Brooklyn 38 0 7.9 .340 .212 .444 .7 1.3 .2 .0 2.2
Career 132 17 11.1 .384 .322 .630 1.0 1.4 .3 .0 3.3

Playoffs

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2012 L.A. Lakers 4 0 2.0 1.000 1.000 .750 .0 .8 .0 .0 2.5
2013 L.A. Lakers 4 2 26.3 .457 .333 .778 1.3 3.0 .5 .0 10.5
2015 Brooklyn 1 0 5.0 .000 .000 .000 .0 .0 .0 .0 .0
Career 9 2 13.1 .487 .400 .769 .6 1.7 .2 .0 5.8

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ Snaer, Leonard share top D1AA honors; March 31, 2009 [Retrieved April 12, 2009].
  4. ↑ Bolch, Ben. Boys' basketball: Leonard among Wooden Award winners; April 7, 2009 [Retrieved April 12, 2009].
  5. ↑ CBS Interactive. High School Winners [Retrieved April 12, 2009].
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  15. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  16. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  17. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  18. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  19. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  20. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  21. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  27. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  28. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.[dead link]
  29. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  30. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  31. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  32. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  33. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  34. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  35. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  36. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  37. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  38. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  39. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  40. ↑ 40.0 40.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  41. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  42. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  43. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  44. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  45. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  46. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  47. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  48. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  49. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  50. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  51. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  52. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  53. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  54. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  55. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  56. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  57. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  58. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  59. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  60. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  61. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  62. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  63. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  64. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  65. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  66. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  67. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  68. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  69. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  70. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  71. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  72. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  73. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  74. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  75. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  76. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  77. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  78. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  79. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  80. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  81. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  82. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  83. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  84. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  85. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  86. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  87. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  88. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  89. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  90. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  91. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  92. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  93. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  94. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  95. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  96. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  97. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  98. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  99. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  100. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  101. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  102. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  103. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  104. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  105. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  106. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  107. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

Retrieved from "https://infogalactic.com/w/index.php?title=Darius_Morris&oldid=713296839"