Tuesday, November 18, 2008
Markieff Morris was so nervous before his first game as a Jayhawk on Sunday that he sent a text message to Kansas coach Bill Self asking for help.
At least, Morris, freshman forward, thought he did. Self wasn’t so sure.
“He probably got me confused with somebody else,” Self said. “Probably some young lady on campus — he texted her and thought it was me probably. I don’t remember getting any texts about that.”
Whoever received Morris’ text message must have responded with something inspirational. Morris overcame his freshman anxiety in the 71-56 victory against UMKC and recorded 15 rebounds and seven points off the bench.
Freshman forward Markieff Morris fights a UMKC player for the ball at Kansas' season opener on Sunday. Morris put his freshman anxiety aside and posted 15 rebounds.
The 15 rebounds were the most by a Jayhawk since the 2003 National Championship game against Syracuse when Nick Collison grabbed 21. It ranked as the third most by a Kansas freshman — behind only Eric Chenowith’s 20 in 1998 and Raef LaFrentz’s 16 in 1995.
Morris accomplished the feat in his first game, nonetheless. Before the game, it looked improbable at best that he could contribute so significantly.
He sweated profusely. Junior guard Sherron Collins felt Morris’ hands and couldn’t believe how moist they were.
But Collins understood. He said he was just as tense before his first game in Allen Fieldhouse two years ago. Collins tried to console Morris.
“My teammates — Sherron and everybody else — were telling me ‘It’s going to be all right,’” Morris said.
Morris checked into the game three minutes after it started and immediately got to work. He blocked a UMKC shot on one of his first defensive possessions.
Markieff found his twin brother, Marcus, cutting near the basket for an assist a few minutes later. With sophomore center Cole Aldrich out because of foul trouble in the first half, Markieff dominated the boards with seven rebounds.
Only one play hinted at how nervous Markieff was. He quickly tossed a three-point attempt from the wing in the first half, and it clanked off the bottom of the backboard. It was one of the only mistakes he made in the game.
“I’m usually pretty efficient,” Markieff said, “but I had the jitters all night.”
Perhaps, they were infectious. The Kangaroo defenders certainly started looking jittery around Markieff in the second half. He added eight more rebounds by playing ferociously below the basket.
He went after every loose ball and didn’t avoid physical confrontation with UMKC players. Markieff’s scrappiness led to two jump-balls when it appeared the Kangaroos had come down with rebounds.
Still, Markieff had no idea how many rebounds he tallied during the game. Assistant coach Danny Manning told Markieff to relax and play. He would inform him of his rebounding statistics after the game.
When Markieff found out he grabbed more rebounds in his debut than any Jayhawk in history, it amazed him.
“Everybody was like ‘whoa,’” freshman guard Tyshawn Taylor said. “Even him. You should have seen his face.”
Markieff said he didn’t expect his case of the jitters to flare up as bad in tonight’s game against Florida Gulf Coast. But if they do, he could always send a text message to somebody.
— — Edited by Lauren Keith
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