Marcus

Kansas has plenty of questions to answer heading into next season. After all, losing an entire starting lineup tends to shake things up.

One of the new Jayhawks could provide an answer to the team’s personnel problems at more than one position. Freshman forward Marcus Morris is big enough to battle in the post and athletic enough to play on the perimeter.

“My best strength is that I’m versatile,” Morris said. “I can play a lot of positions on the court, and I’ll play wherever coach Self puts me.”

Morris played the role of scorer at Prep Charter High School in Philadelphia, averaging 27 points and 12 rebounds per game. Rivals.com ranked Marcus the 29th-best overall player and eighth-best small forward in his class.

ESPN.com’s recruiting service said Morris was a reliable shooter but lacked advanced ball-handling skills. But freshman guard Tyshawn Taylor said the 220-pound forward had the athleticism necessary to play away from the basket.

“Marcus is 6-8 but he can play on the wing,” Taylor said. “If you put a big on him, he’ll beat him off the dribble. If the defender is small, he can post him up.”

In the absence of NBA draftee and former Jayhawk Brandon Rush, Morris could fight for an immediate spot in Kansas’ starting lineup. Morris will compete against junior college transfer Mario Little and sophomore guard Tyrel Reed for minutes, against whom he has a distinct advantage: height.

At 6-8, Morris is three inches taller than Little and five inches taller than Reed. He is two inches taller than Rush, who was big enough to create mismatches against smaller wing players.

If Marcus secures a place in the Jayhawks’ rotation, he would probably play alongside his brother, Markieff. He said the connection he had with his brother felt like second-nature.

“It’s special,” Marcus said. “We’ve been playing with each other all our lives so it’s never anything different. I always know where he is going to be — it’s just always been that way.”

Morris said friendly summer pickup games with his new teammates were not the toughest part of his summer — he said he was more concerned with adjusting to college life off of the court.

“I’m just not used to being at college yet, but KU is a great place,” Morris said.

Markieff

Markieff Morris speaks in subdued tones, his deep voice granting brief glimpses of the freshman forward’s demeanor. When asked about his basketball skills, he strays from adjectives in favor of the humble basics.

According to one of his more talkative teammates, the power forward’s ability to take his cool and collected style onto the court is a positive.

“Whenever Markieff is in the post, he’s really smooth,” said freshman guard Tyshawn Taylor. “A lot of big guys get worked up and get too aggressive down low, but he’s got some finesse. He’s polished around the basket.”

Markieff is the larger and less-heralded half of the Morris twins, a pair of incoming freshmen brothers from Philadelphia.

At 6-foot-10 and 230 pounds, Markieff is cut from the same physical cloth as former Kansas standout Darrell Arthur. Though Morris didn’t draw as much praise as Arthur through high school, their specialties are similar.

In 2007 at Philadelphia’s Prep Charter High School, Morris averaged 23 points and 15 rebounds per game. Earlier this year, playing for post-grad school APEX Academy in Pennsauken, N.J., he posted 37 points and made 10 three-pointers in one game.

“I can do a lot of things, whether I’m in the paint or anywhere,” Morris said. “I scored a lot in high school, but I’ll do whatever coach needs me to do. I just want to get out there and play.”

Morris should have ample opportunity to play early in his career at Kansas. The departure of top posts Arthur, Sasha Kaun and Darnell Jackson means Kansas coach Bill Self will divide playing time between Morris, sophomore center Cole Aldrich and freshman forward Quintrell Thomas.

Aldrich played well down the stretch last season to put himself in position to start this season. Recruiting Web site Rivals.com lists Morris as the 50th-best prospect in the 2008 class and Thomas at 150th.

When Markieff committed to Kansas in November, Self said he thought Markieff was one of “the most underrated players in the country.” Self said the forward’s ability to play inside and out was his best skill.

“Markieff is a big forward that can play either spot on your front line,” Self said. “He is a very good low post player.”

Neither Markieff nor his brother Marcus have met the NCAA’s academic qualifications yet, but are finishing up their first summer school sessions at the University. Marcus said they were “very close” to qualifying, and that they needed to finish one core course to become eligible.

— Edited by Matt Hirschfeld