Randolph Morris

[Luv those Knicks]

I don't think Morris will make your team, but just 2 years ago he was considered the equivalent of a mid to late first round pick and at least 2 teams offered him contracts, the Knicks paid him I think over double the league minimum.

In spot minutes, Morris looked OK but unimpressive. He's got the game and speed of a center and the size of a PF and he doesn't even have Jackie Butler's aggressiveness. He was able to hit the occasional midrange jumper and he grabs rebounds that are coming his way. I don't know if Morris is worth a look, but he occasionally looked like he'd be a servicible bench player, and he is a legit 6'9 with a solid build.

If he plays on your summerleague team he'll probably look good. He's a very good summer league / CBA player - not sure he's NBA quality, but he might be. He's also young and if he works hard, he might be in this league a few years, but my guess is, the Knicks released him for a reason. Ofcourse, NY might have released him cause not a running Dantoni type player.


There's a thread on him on the Knicks board if you're interested.

[threrf23]

If you're interested, I put together player composite scores for every player in the league...I calculated Randolph Morris as the worst player in the league with a minimum of 80 minutes played or so. For reference, I got Lebron KG and CP3 as the top 3 players overall, respectively.

[MoBSTa]

Not interested, in a composite based on stats. You can't pre-judge a players ability from stats it isn't possible. Randolph Morris was a nice center at UK in a system very similar to Doc's.

Like Perk, Morris also throws a good outlet pass. His recovery and his Blitz could be better though as a Junior at UK I believe he was a solid Center and ranked in the top of his class in the SEC.

However, he decided after his sophmore year to declare for the draft, and that was his first mistake, his second mistake was taking an offer from the Knick's half-way through the 06-07 season.

I think a good Big Man coach could do wonders for the kid.

Take a look here. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randolph_Morris

[hiphop1]

I thought he was 6'10"?

[Andrew McCeltic]

I hate to be a skeptic, but- if good big man coaches like Clifford Ray could really do wonders, they'd make a lot more money and would have much higher profiles

[TheCelticTruth]

I hate to be a skeptic, but- if good big man coaches like Clifford Ray could really do wonders, they'd make a lot more money and would have much higher profiles

yeah the guys he has really worked on the last few years (dwight howard, al jefferson, kendrick perkins) havent done much

[Andrew McCeltic]

yeah the guys he has really worked on the last few years (dwight howard, al jefferson, kendrick perkins) havent done much

Isn't that more likely a case of the guy aligning himself with good young players who were going to improve anyway?

[MoBSTa]

Take it for what you want, Whether Randolph plays for the C's or another NBA team don't matter to me. This is a very young Kid, who has alot of upside. Just what do you ask for in a young player?

I guess, if a rookie don't come out and avg 20-10 any more he is pethetic.

[TheCelticTruth]

yeah the guys he has really worked on the last few years (dwight howard, al jefferson, kendrick perkins) havent done much

Isn't that more likely a case of the guy aligning himself with good young players who were going to improve anyway?

ehhh, possibly. i think he makes a noticeable impact, but certainly if he had coached worse players we would see lesser results. lets see what happens as powe and davis mature, and possibly erden when/if he makes it here

[SeizeCoup]

Are you saying that Clifford Ray is the Phil Jackson of assistant coaches?

Joking aside, you have to give him credit (at least) for not screwing up the development of three young big-men. Dwight Howard speaks very fondly of him, and both Jefferson and Perkins show (and continue to show) steady improvement while under the watchful eye of the stone cold scowl. At the very least, he's an asset as a person, a non-hinderance to the growth of a youth. Papa ClifF.

Personally, I believe he's very good at helping (young) players develop the personality needed to be a big. An aggressive intensity teacher.

Plus I met him (and shook his hand) at a Bertucci's in Waltham!

p.s. Randolph Morris is interesting in that I have no faith in NY's talent evaluation.

[buckner1976]

randolph morris, at least when he was in college always struck me as the eddy curry of UK basketball. a lazy center who wouldnt grab a board unless(as noted by a previous poster) the ball landed in his lap. he had the size to be dominant but he wasnt. im not surprised rondo was the guy grabbing all those boards at UK because it wasnt morris. he may have changed now but he always struck me as a player with no heart.

[lukeridenour]

hes not that great, scott pollard was more useful being injured on the bench.

[threrf23]

Well I do have to say - based on everything I read about him, he strikes me as Brandon Hunter minus the rebounding.

[MoBSTa]

BTW here is something for you Agent's and wanna be's to watch be sure to watch the ending.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UXVL2PEpiTg

It's pethetic, how an athletes decision on the agent he hires or don't hire, will affect's his value.
It would amaze me, just to know how many pocket's a perticular agent fill's.

Agent's and Pimp's are the same thing, If you deal with either one,
your bound to be getting screwed.

[sully00]

randolph morris, at least when he was in college always struck me as the eddy curry of UK basketball. a lazy center who wouldnt grab a board unless(as noted by a previous poster) the ball landed in his lap. he had the size to be dominant but he wasnt. im not surprised rondo was the guy grabbing all those boards at UK because it wasnt morris. he may have changed now but he always struck me as a player with no heart.

I have got to agree. I have/had a man crush on Rondo so I watched a ton of UK games and this guy is a just allergic to rebounds. He actually isn't an awful low post defender but his rebounding is shameful. He has a nice offensive game, he strikes me as the kind of guy who will break out one year and grab 7 or 8 rebounds a game and someone will pay him a ridiculous amount of money. Sadly for Randolph, as was already pointed out, he got his masters from Big Dumb, Stupid, and Lazy University in Manhattan and that teamed with the Tubby Disaster at Kentucky and this guy has to forget more than he has learned. I have a ton of respect for Clifford Ray, he and Robert Parish are essentially the new era Pete Newell, but fixing this kid would be like teaching the blind to see or me to jump.

[Gomes3PC]

Morris can't hurt the roster by competing for a spot. There are nowhere close to 30 starting-caliber centers in the NBA, probably half that number at most. As such, a lot of unworthy 6-11 or 7-0 big men end up getting lots of chances. Morris at least showed flashes in college of some good production. He reminds me a bit of Brendan Haywood, and Haywood (sadly) is a top 5 center in the East. If you can coach him a bit, Morris might give you a bit more than an oft-injured Scot Pollard.

I'd still rather get Jamaal Magloire though. The fiery KG and the comaraderie of the whole team could get Jamaal to play up to his abilities more than the last two years. Believe it or not, Magloire did make an All Star Game back in the day.