Catching Up With Maryland Guard Darryl Morsell
The no. 12 Maryland Terrapins were heading into the Big 10 Tournament with a 24-7 overall record and had just earned a key win over a no. 25 ranked Michigan team. The Terps had everything a team needs to make postseasons runs in their conference tournament and the NCAA Tournament. They had Anthony Cowan, a seasoned point guard who could score in bunches, Jalen Smith, a versatile 6-foot-8 forward who could score from inside out while dominating the defensive end with rim protection and a number of role players who were capable of stepping up in big games to help seal victories.
One of those role players was Darryl Morsell. A 6-foot-5 do-it-all guard out of Mount St. Joseph, Morsell was a swiss army knife as indicated by his 8.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.1 assist per game stat line.
“I was hurt,” Morsell said as he reflected on the news of their season being cancelled. “I think our whole team was hurt. I was really hurting for our seniors like Anthony and the other guys because this was their last chance. I was proud that we could go out by winning a Big 10 regular season championship for those guys, but for them I was hurt.”
As difficult as it may be to move on from what this Maryland team had going in 2019-20, the only option is to prepare for next season in hopes of getting to a similar level.
“I’ve been reaching out to the guys who will be coming back next year and just been trying to tell them that we have to use that feeling as motivation for next year,” Morsell said.
Morsell has always carried himself as one of the team leaders on the floor. His energy and willingness to sacrifice his body for the greater goal is obvious. While he’s split time throughout his career in limited roles both as a starter and a sixth man, he looks forward to taking on more responsibility as a senior.
“I feel like I’m going to have to increase everything that I do,” Morsell continued, “as a senior I’ll have to be a leader by example and a leader with my voice. I’ll have to score the ball a little bit more and kind of keep guys on the up and be the leader the team needs. I’ve been talking with Eric Ayala and Aaron Wiggins and feel like we’re three of the best guards in the country. We have to have that mindset going into every game. We have to carry this team.”
For the time being, Morsell continues to focus on improving not only his skillset, but also his body and conditioning. He’s been spending time at Sweat Performance with owner and skill development trainer who has a client list consisting of NBA and NFL athletes.
“I started working with Kyle after my freshman season at Maryland and met him through Noah Locke (Florida),” Morsell told Prep Hoops. “When I first worked out with him I could just tell he was a perfectionist. Everything had to be perfect and he will criticize what you do if it isn’t perfect, and I felt like that’s what I needed. He’s always sending me clips of my game and telling me what I need to patch up on. He customizes my workout to my style of play. He just makes sure you’re in tip-top shape with condition, basketball wise and confidence.”
The last time Morsell became the focal point of a team was his senior season at Mount St. Joseph. It resulted in winning both the Baltimore Catholic League and MIAA A Conference championships. As he prepares to fill a similar role for the Terps in 2020-21, he’ll look to once again lead his team to collecting hardware.