Shaq Morris?

[Boomer-D]

Would we have interest in him if Gregg Marshall parlays this run into a new job?

 

[pnkranger]

Most likely...with M'Baye moving on.

 

[OUHoops]

One would hope.

 

[AdaSooner]

OU missed out on him once. I would like to think our coaches would not make that mistake twice.

 

[Seymore Cox]

I heard from some coaches that Morris grew tired of being invited for unofficial visits just to be a tag along with Woodard and Clark.

 

[brettromar]

He is undersized for his motor.
He doesn't like contact.

He has some serious tools if someone can get him to play hard. He has played at several different schools and that hasn't happened yet. But if a college can get him to play hard then LOOK out. You have to play hard when you are a 6'6 post in college.

His biggest hurdle in college is he won't push people around and can't complain to the refs when someone pushes back. He doesn't like contact from his opponents. He really struggled with our post man that was the same size as him the two previous years. I think he scored 8 points combined in two games because of the physical presence our guy brought him. He got frustrated and would lose focus.

Hope he proves me wrong and shows some toughness and accells at the next level. Always like to see Oklahoma kids showing the country how good basketball can be here.

 

[Postman77]

There is no doubt that Shaq Morris has not had the best rep for working hard in past years. However, anyone that watched him play would say he was a different player this year. Morris was a major force all season long...both as a scorer and rebounder. It has been well documented his growth over the last year with Edmond. There is no doubt that he needs to continue the growth he displayed this season, but I guarantee if Morris had displayed his junior year what he displayed his senior year that OU would have offered in a minute. Lets not forget that Wichita Freakin State signed the guy. Oh yeah, they are in the Final Four. If Gregg Marshall leaves--OU would be doing backflips if Morris would switch. Can't compare Morris as a junior versus senior...it's not even close.

 

[WillJennings]

A lot of it with Morris is he got in better shape and the new coach helped. Woodard being out also helped his game improve. That was the first time in his life he has ever been the number one option offensively, when Woodard went out with injury and he flourished with that opportunity.


Now is he OU's level? Iwould probably say yes if they are looking for a player this late in the game. His ceiling is higher than some players they have on their roster in terms of athleticism and skill potential. His biggest issue as with a lot of incoming freshman will be adjusting to the speed of the game.

 

[brettromar]

That is good news Postman. What I saw this year was the same guy I saw last year, he was just playing guys he could push around or was 6 inches taller than.

I want to see what he does against guys who can match him physically and WSU has that. That is why he could be a good player in college. However he has to change his mentality when people play with contact. He made the same faces and complained to the ref the same way he always had when BA and Owasso actually pushed back. That is his biggest hurdle in my opinion.

He has the skills. He will either step up to the next level, or get frustrated. Hopefully it is the first one.

 

[sportsfan]

A lot of it with Morris is he got in better shape and the new coach helped. Woodard being out also helped his game improve. That was the first time in his life he has ever been the number one option offensively, when Woodard went out with injury and he flourished with that opportunity.


Now is he OU's level? Iwould probably say yes if they are looking for a player this late in the game. His ceiling is higher than some players they have on their roster in terms of athleticism and skill potential. His biggest issue as with a lot of incoming freshman will be adjusting to the speed of the game.

I have watched Shaq all year and I disagree with your comments. Unless coaches do not know how to coach Shaq should always be the first option when you have someone his size. When Woodard was out Aaron Young really stepped his game up and did what he needed to do to help the team win. You can look at the Deer Creek tournament as an example. He was named MVP of the tournament. Shaq's problem has always been his motor. You can get two good quarters out of Shaq and then he disappears. The state tournament was the best I have seen him play but he still didn't give you four quarters every game. That is why a lot of major colleges didn't offer.

 

[Boomer-D]

Well Kruger would have him rotating in to play only about 15-20 mins so sounds like a perfect fit!

 

[WillJennings]

I have watched Shaq all year and I disagree with your comments. Unless coaches do not know how to coach Shaq should always be the first option when you have someone his size. When Woodard was out Aaron Young really stepped his game up and did what he needed to do to help the team win. You can look at the Deer Creek tournament as an example. He was named MVP of the tournament. Shaq's problem has always been his motor. You can get two good quarters out of Shaq and then he disappears. The state tournament was the best I have seen him play but he still didn't give you four quarters every game. That is why a lot of major colleges didn't offer.

I agree he has had motor issues, but a lot of that can be attributed to playing at 275, which is how much he weighed last year. The games I saw him this year, he looked about 235 to 240. If he gets to 225, I think he continues to improve.

This has been the first year players and coaches have got him involved in the game. Playing with Woodard, he got the ball more than he ever had in the past and that is why he stayed more involved in games than before. But he also seemed to get up and down the court better too.