ESPN article about summer leage, Morrison blurb

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=2515872&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab2pos1

 

full article about Morrison http://www.palmbeachpost.com/heat/content/sports/epaper/2006/07/11/a3c_heatsummer_0711.html



NBA rookie Morrison impresses Charlotte
By Chris Perkins

Palm Beach Post Staff Writer

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

ORLANDO - With any luck, Wednesday won't be the best day of Adam Morrison's NBA career. But it will be remembered nonetheless.

"That was basically the coming out of Adam Morrison," Charlotte second-year guard Kevin Burleson said.

Morrison, the fiery, shaggy-haired 6-foot-8 forward from Gonzaga who was the No. 3 pick of the draft by Charlotte, has drawn comparisons to NBA Hall of Famers Larry Bird and Pete Maravich for his offensive skills and his scraggly appearance.

In reality, Morrison's game doesn't resemble either Bird's or Maravich's, and that was apparent in his 12-point, 3-for-14 shooting performance in Monday's 83-65 victory against the Heat in the Orlando Summer League.

But Morrison amazed his new teammates six days ago by rallying his team from a 23-point, fourth-quarter deficit for a victory in the first scrimmage of the Bobcats' summer-league team.

At one point, Morrison, who had five 40-point games and 13 30-point games last season for Gonzaga, hit seven consecutive shots.

And he did it in a variety of ways.

"He hit step-backs off one foot, turnaround jumpers, three-pointers," Burleson said. "What's special about it is when most guys get hot, they get hot in the same way; with him every shot was different.

"That's something that's special. A lot of guys don't have that in their arsenal. He kind of reminds me of a 6-7 Steve Nash out there."

Morrison, who is famous for his on-court confidence but infamous for his on-court crying after Gonzaga was eliminated by UCLA in the NCAA Tournament, didn't have similar success Monday.

Initially defended by third-year Heat guard Dorell Wright, who started at small forward, Morrison had a somewhat disappointing offensive game. He also had four rebounds and five assists.

"It was my first NBA-type game, and I guess I was a little nervous," Morrison said.

"I think I rushed my shot a little too much, but as far as all the other things, I think I played a decent game."

Wright blocked Morrison's first shot. But Morrison, who remained emotionally low-key Monday, bounced back to get Wright in foul trouble, eventually sending him to the bench.

Morrison, whose defensive skills remain a question, appeared comfortable using shot fakes to get defenders in the air, running off screens, and creating his own shot - the same things he did while earning national college Player of the Year honors.

Morrison played so well early in Monday's game that Heat assistant coach Keith Askins had to use one of his well-known motivational tactics on Wright.

"The first couple of minutes when I got in foul trouble, coach Askins was telling me, 'Oh yeah, he's going to have 30 (points),' " Wright said.

"I said, 'Why are you saying that?' He said, 'Because every time he touches it, he's going to score.'

"So then, when I got back in there, I had to show I could defend so I could prove coach wrong."

Despite the numbers, most thought Morrison played well.

"Morrison certainly has some skills," said Heat assistant Erik Spoelstra, the coach of Miami's summer team. "He can put the ball on the floor.

"He took one of them coast-to-coast where he made a move on Dorell. That's unique where you get a guy that size that can put the ball on the floor."

Morrison figures to start for the Bobcats and add instant offense to a team that finished 18th in the 30-team NBA at 96.9 points per game. Still, many doubt whether he's up to the task of being a scorer at the NBA level.

Morrison fell back on his well-documented collegiate confidence to show he plans on filling that role.

"This is where you make your mistakes, this is where you get them all out of the bag and this is where you mess up," he said.

"That's what summer league is for, and this is why it's practice.

"I've never really looked at the media stuff and draft info and all that stuff. That's just outside opinion. I know what I can do and what this team can do, so I'm just going to go out and play."

 

Apparently he went apeshit yesterday and scored 25 in the first half.

One dude said "Morrison's performance in that game was astounding. They were literally sending triple-teams at him on every posession and he was acting as if the defense didn't exist."

 

Updated: July 12, 2006, 9:39 AM ET
Summer league report: Morrison nets 25 by halftimeBy John Denton
Special to ESPN.com


ORLANDO, Fla. -- He showed the sophistication in his scoring, hitting stutter-step runners in the lane, high-arcing jumpers from the outside and even the occasional spin move from the post.

And he showed that famous fire, practically willing himself out of a first-night stinker with a jaw-dropping start for the ages.

But most of all, Adam Morrison showed Tuesday night why the Charlotte Bobcats feel they culled a megawatt star from last month's NBA draft with the third overall pick.

A night after missing 11 of 14 shots in a jittery NBA debut, Morrison bounced back in a big way by systematically dismantling the Chicago Bulls' summer league team. In the moments after his sizzling 25-point first half and 29-point night, Morrison had longtime NBA executives in awe of the performance he had just turned in Day 2 of the Pepsi Pro Summer League in Orlando.

Everyone was surprised, except of course, Morrison. The former Gonzaga star seemed to take great pride in silencing his critics by hitting his first five shots Tuesday and scoring 15 of the Bobcats' first 21 points. Morrison did cool off in the second half, but by then it didn't seem to matter.

"I think what the Bobcats saw in my workouts that I can move better than people give me credit for and I'm faster, I guess, than people think at first," Morrison said following Charlotte's 88-87 defeat of Chicago. "I like showing out here that I'm not just a spot-up shooter. I never was at Gonzaga, so I don't know where people ever get that idea. I think it's something that will transfer to the next level.''

That looks like a certainty now, but some might have had their doubts after Morrison missed nine consecutive shots at one point in his first NBA game Monday. Bobcats summer league coach John-Blair Bickerstaff challenged Morrison in the moments before Tuesday's game, telling him, "the goal is to put the ball in the hole.''

Morrison did have a chance to write a storybook ending to the game in the closing seconds, but his runner over fellow first-round pick Tyrus Thomas (17 points, 11 rebounds, two blocks) rimmed out. But Charlotte center D'or Fischer tipped in the miss to keep Charlotte (2-0) perfect in the summer league.

Morrison said he isn't about to get too high about posting a big game against the likes of Ugonna Onyekwe and fellow rookie Thabo Sefolosha. But, like most, he's quite eager to see how his game will transfer against some of the NBA's best small forward stars.

"I think every rookie is thinking the same thing right now, and it's going to be fun to get out there,'' Morrison said. "This league is so good for us young guys right now. To have a game like I did [Monday] night, making all the mistakes that I did, I was able to come back [Tuesday] and learn from them.''