Recruiting Report: Eli Morton (2018)
As he heads into his senior season with Timberline, 5-foot-11 point guard Eli Morton is hoping to see some of his current interest materialize into offers.
And using some help for a world-class NBA star to help guide him.
Currently, Morton is seeing an unusually wide-range of interest; D1 and D2 schools from around the country.
“I have some interest from Berry which is in Florida, Youngstown State (OH), Queens (NC), San Diego, Cal State-Fullerton, and Alcorn State (MS) has shown a little interest,” said Morton.
“Berry’s been looking at me for awhile, so hopefully during the school season they pull the trigger.”
There’s one school in particular which was mentioned as a top obligation. But Morton says he just wants a couple offers to come in, from whichever schools deem him worthy.
“I want Youngstown to offer. My mom is from Cleveland, so we have family out there in Ohio,” said Morton.
“But each and every one of those schools, I have a reason why I would want them to offer. But I know I’ll have to continue to work and stay patient in order for them to do that.”
Morton went on to discuss why he feels his recruitment is from such a vast array of schools, and how he uses an NBA star to help him navigate his young basketball career.
“I feel like I have this wide-range because I have so much to my game. Ya, me being short people might think I might not make it,” said Morton, Washington’s 31st-ranked 2018.
“Being close to Isaiah Thomas, I know what he goes through. And we don’t let that affect what we do on the court. We just make our teammates better and play defense.”
Morton became acquainted with the newly-minted Cleveland Cavaliers star when he was young, and they’ve stayed in touch since.
“When I was a little kid, I want to say third grade, he (Thomas) came to my banquet, and my dad knew his dad,” said Morton.
“But then, a couple years ago, he invited the top players from Washington to come to his house and just chill and listen to his story; play basketball, eat, and just have fun basically.”
“Ever since then, I’ll text him and ask him for advice. And he’ll just give me a straight up answer, whether I like it or not. And it’s up to me how I take that in.”
Morton has spent his spring and summer working relentlessly to improve his game and prepare for his upcoming senior season with the Blazers.
“I’ve actually been playing a lot of pickup and working on my in-game moves — mostly on my scoring,” said Morton. “Mostly in high school, I’ve been a passer and played good defense, and I’ve been making sure those parts of my game are solid, while also working on my shooting and my dribbling ability even more.”
He was playing his 17U season with Seattle Select High Academic 17U.
“I feel like I played good, my game improved a lot more. I’ve been able to get that killer instinct a lot more,” said Morton, who is now prepped and eager for his senior season to begin.
“I’ll do whatever it takes for my team to win, and scoring will be a huge part of my role this year — scoring and just being a complete point guard.”