![]() 5 Marquette and 2019 Big East Player of the Year Markus Howard. As a senior in 2016-17 and before that as a junior in 2015-16, he averaged nearly a triple-double with 27 points, eight rebounds and eight assists per game. 12 seed in the West region of the bracket and in its first-round match, it will see No. Finished as the schools all-time scorer with 1,679 points. In a stroke of great luck, or maybe just great match-making by the selection committee, we all will get to see Morant put his talents on display on college basketball’s grandest stage against a fellow Naismith Player of the year semifinalist. Morant’s remarkable athleticism is what shows up on all the highlight reels, but it’s this in conjunction with his high skill level that makes him such an intoxicating prospect. This will have to improve at the next level, but seeing as he shot over 50 per cent from the field in general and got to the free-throw line more than eight times per game this season as well, there is some positive self-awareness on Morant’s part of what he’s actual best at. He only shot 33.6 per cent from the college three this season, taking 4.8 per game. The only knock against Morant from a skills standpoint at the moment is his three-point stroke. He’s taken great strides to improve his decision-making in the pick-and-roll, and while he’s no Chris Paul yet, the foundation is there and he should only look better running it when he gets to the NBA and is playing with superior players as he looks comfortable going left or right already and is an ambidextrous passer. ![]() Yes, he can physically dominate with his athleticism, but he allows the game to come to him and never forces things as he’s adept at playing at almost any speed, in both transition and in the half-court and in set-play situations or not. Other than how eye-popping they are, those numbers speak to the level of feel Morant has for the game already. One of the first sights you’ll probably see of Morant is his and the Racers’ pre-game ritual that sees him lob an alley-oop to himself, take off about a step just inside the free-throw line and boom down a huge dunk while his teammates jump up and down around him. Never heard of Morant before this moment? Here’s a little a more on him and why he has NBA scouts salivating at the prospect of his potential.Ģ018-19 season averages: PPG: 24.6 | APG: 10.0 | RPG: 5.5 An insane athlete 12 seed, and will be hoping for a better performance this year in part because of the emergent step Morant took in his second year that’s now made him a top-three lock in just about every NBA mock draft. Morant helped Murray State earn its second straight NCAA Tournament appearance with an OVC Tournament MVP performance after the Racers won the tournament and earned an automatic bid into the dance. A sophomore playing out of little-known mid-major program Murray State in the Ohio Valley Conference, Morant was the OVC Player of the Year, was named a First-Team All-American by the United States Basketball Writers Association and is on the latest shortlist for the Naismith Player of the Year. ![]()
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