NCAA clears Morris twins
Marcus and Markieff Morris will play for Kansas this season after all.
By Case Keefer (Contact)
Thursday, September 4th, 2008
Kansas coach Bill Self has fielded the same question hundreds of times over the past three months – When will the NCAA clear the Morris twins?
He won’t have to anymore. The NCAA Eligibility Center ruled Marcus and Markieff Morris academically eligible Thursday. The Morris twins will start taking classes immediately and be ready to practice when the Jayhawks begin next month.
“We’ve been waiting for this day for a long time and we’re excited that it is finally here,” the twins said in a statement. “We’re looking forward to getting to class and to begin playing with our teammates.”
The timing was a bit inconvenient. If the NCAA would have cleared the Morris twins last week, they could have traveled with the team to Ottawa, Canada to play in three exhibition games.
Self said he was pleased with his team’s performance after the trip but wished the Morris twins could have come. But Self isn’t worried about that now. He’s just happy they’ll be eligible to play in the upcoming season.
“While it may have taken a bit longer than we had hoped,” Self said, “the important thing is that the process worked.”
Self said he understood why clearing the Morris twins took longer than the Jayhawks’ five other newcomers. The Morris twins went to multiple high schools and attended a prep-academy last year, which meant more paperwork for the NCAA to sift through. He called their route to Kansas “non-traditional.”
“We certainly understand the uniqueness of these circumstances,” Self said, “so we appreciate the NCAA’s cooperation in reviewing the material involved in a timely manner.”
The Morris twins were considered to be Self’s prized recruits in the 2008 class. Rivals.com ranked Marcus as the No. 29 player in the nation and Markieff at No. 49.
The twins are expected to play immediately and help bolster the Jayhawks’ front line with sophomore center Cole Aldrich and freshman forward Quintrell Thomas.
— Edited by Kelsey Hayes
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