Future Racer: Ja Morant
Justin Byerly
[caption id="attachment_120504" align="alignleft" width="300"] Ja Morant[/caption]
<strong>Temetrius "Ja" Morant</strong> is what I love about high school basketball. He is flamboyant and flashy. His game speaks for itself and he can back it up. Morant has helped lead <strong>Crestwood High School</strong> into the SCHSL 4-A state playoffs with a 16-7 overall record. Crestwood takes on Beaufort High School tonight in the first round.
Morant had scholarship offers from South Carolina, Duquesne, SC State, Maryland-Eastern Shore, and Wofford before choosing Murray State. The 6-foot-2 guard is averaging right at 29 points per game this season along with 7 rebounds and 6 assists. "The season is going pretty good, we have to get back to where we were at the beginning of the year," Morant said.
Morant is blessed with an ability to score the basketball. He has a quick first-step, he can go left or right, has a tight handle, sees the floor well, can finish at the rim, has a text-book shot with a nice release and follow-through. He is quick in the open floor and sees the whole court. Morant is long and can disrupt the passing lanes with his defense. At 6-foot-2 he can see over other smaller point guards and make passes easier.
At Murray State, Morant will fit in well with their style of play. Coach McMahon and Murray State score a lot of points, getting up and down the court in a hurry and shooting the long ball will be right up Morant's alley. Playing time might come early for Morant, as Bryce Jones is the only true point guard on the roster and he graduates after the season. Murray State will lose almost 30 points per game with graduating seniors and Morant will have to come in and provide some scoring. His length and scoring ability will help with the transition to Division 1 basketball.
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