HARTFORD, Conn.—Main stream college basketball fans finally got a formal introduction to Ja Morant here yesterday.
The lightning quick, 19-year old 6-3 junior point guard from Murray State lived up to all the hype. He finished with a triple double, scoring 17 points, contributing 16 assists and grabbing 11 rebounds as the Racers from the Ohio Valley blew by a good Marquette team from the Big East, 83-64, in an NCAA tournament first round game at the XL Center. He accounted for 55 of his team’s points with his points and assists.
“It’s definitely his eyesight,’’ Brown said. “Sometimes he surprises me when he gets to the goal and gets everybody to jump and he still finds a way to get the ball to us.’’
Morant is the real deal—a sensational passer with great court vision who can get to rim, make threes, elevate, create good shots for his teammates and routinely manufactures Sports Center highlight reel clips that have left NBA scouts and general managers drooling. Forty-two of them showed up just to watch him play against Belmont in January. He is good enough to be the second pick overall in the upcoming draft and, depending on what an NBA is looking for, perhaps the top pick overall ahead of Duke franchise Zion Williamson.
Because Murray-Marquette was the only game aired in the 4;30 p.m. window, Morant got world-wide attention. He was the leading trending topic on Twitter for close to two hours.
It was a privilege to watch both Morant and the Racers play under the bright lights. Murray shot 53.6 percent and 50 from the three. The Racers, who also got 19 points from forward Tevin Brown and put four players in double figures, had 23 assists on 30 field goals and limited Marquette to 4 for 23 shooting at the start of the second half.
Morant is from the same hometown as Ray Allen, who was a huge star here at the University of Connecticut in the 90’s. His father and Allen played on the same high school team at Hillcrest. “I really haven’t spoken to Ray much,’’ Morant admitted. “He and my dad and my uncle are still close.’’
The kid who entered ninth grade as an undersized 5-9 guard and was overlooked by recruiters for his first three years of his prep career in Crestwood High in Dalzell, S.C. before being discovered by then Murray State assistant James Kane, is now one of the sport’s most exciting players. He was good enough to overshadow Marquette’s Big East Player of the Year Markus Howard, who finished with 24 points himself.
Kane initially went check on a signed recruit, Tevin Brown from Alabama, who was participating in a grass roots recruiting camp at Spartansburg, S.C. Day Academy. He wandered into an auxiliary gym and spotted a spidery kid playing three on three.
Morant had been a late invite and his name wasn’t even on a list, but Kane was so impressed by Morant’s handle and accurate passing, he checked with the camp directors, then called his head coach Matt McMahon when he found out Morant was going to be playing against Brown in a camp game and told him to make the three hour drive from Calloway County in Southeast Kentucky to see for himself.
“This kid is going to be a pro,’’ Kane told him.
Talk about having a crystal ball.
After Morant dropped 30 on Brown’s team, McMahon was sold. He was just hoping none of the power schools would discover one of the state’s biggest secrets. Then, Morant averaged 40.5 points in a summer tournament at Greensboro and South Carolina offered. But Moran, who averaged 27 points and was an 3A all-state selection as a senior, went against conventional wisdom and signed with the Ohio Valley Conference program where he has become a star on his own terms.
“I’d say it’s been rough, coming from being overlooked in high school and not receiving much attention,’’ Morant said. “There were times when I questioned myself: Was I good enough? And now it’s just my hard work is paying off and it feels good.’’
Morant had several feel-good moments during this game, including a slam dunk off a backdoor pass that electrified the sellout crowd or the length of the floor cross court pass that led to a layup.Murray advanced to a second round game against Florida State Saturday.
“Relax,’’ Morant tweeted. “I’m not done yet.’’
