Oklahoma Top 5 Player committs to WSU

by **Snaggletooth** » October 22nd, 2012, 8:39 pm

Edmond (Okla.) Memorial center Shaq Morris committed to Wichita State’s men’s basketball program on Monday.

"The program is wonderful,” Morris said on the Newsok.com webcast. “They’ve got good fans, good everything. It’s the perfect place to get me better."

Not sure how this is really relevant, but it insinuates that if you are named after a famous person then you will be famous also.

Morris is named for former NBA star Shaquille O’Neal. His grandmother chose the name and Morris likes the comparison to one of the NBA’s top physical presences.

I wished my parents named me after a famous person [sigh]

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by **Shocker_Phi** » October 22nd, 2012, 10:32 pm

I'm excited about this dude mainly because of his name. Guess I should do some research on the guy now.

by **shock** » October 23rd, 2012, 9:37 am

He has had some work ethic issues in the past but seems to have gotten over the lazy bug. He loves to get physical and if he catches the ball on the block he is going to dunk it. He reminds me of a more aggressive and athletic JT Durley. Moves very easy and gets off the floor with little effort. 6'8 260, and looks pretty solid.

by **UE 71** » October 23rd, 2012, 7:37 pm

shock wrote:He has had some work ethic issues in the past but seems to have gotten over the lazy bug. He loves to get physical and if he catches the ball on the block he is going to dunk it. He reminds me of a more aggressive and athletic JT Durley. Moves very easy and gets off the floor with little effort. 6'8 260, and looks pretty solid.

Gotta love these guys. They foul out quickly.

by **Wufan** » October 23rd, 2012, 8:37 pm

Morris reminds me of Olivier at UNI in build and skill set for those that have seen Olivier play.

by **uniftw** » October 24th, 2012, 12:42 pm

Wufan wrote:Morris reminds me of Olivier at UNI in build and skill set for those that have seen Olivier play.

Are you complimenting Olivier or questioning the signing? I really don't know.

I do know there has been some real issues with Olivier's work habit.

by **Wufan** » October 24th, 2012, 4:56 pm

uniftw wrote:
Wufan wrote:Morris reminds me of Olivier at UNI in build and skill set for those that have seen Olivier play.

Are you complimenting Olivier or questioning the signing? I really don't know.

I do know there has been some real issues with Olivier's work habit.

I watched a few online videos of Olivier this summer. Shaq Morris then showed up on the radar and I watched a video on him. They are of similar build and both showed an unusual quickness for big bodies. That's all.

by **uniftw** » October 25th, 2012, 12:37 pm

Wufan wrote:
uniftw wrote:
Wufan wrote:Morris reminds me of Olivier at UNI in build and skill set for those that have seen Olivier play.

Are you complimenting Olivier or questioning the signing? I really don't know.

I do know there has been some real issues with Olivier's work habit.

I watched a few online videos of Olivier this summer. Shaq Morris then showed up on the radar and I watched a video on him. They are of similar build and both showed an unusual quickness for big bodies. That's all.

Gotcha.

Olivier has been very tough to get a read on for Panther fans...and coaches. He had work ethic issues when he stepping on campus, thought it was taken care of and he had dropped a lot of weight and was stronger/better conditioned. When he stepped on campus he was over weight, not real strong, and was in poor condition. He went home for a couple weeks over the summer and came back having lost everything he had worked for apparently - Jake called him out in interviews as well for it (Jake doesn't normally put players on "blast" like that). There is great frustration with him. He shows glimpses of being a very very good player, and talks/acts like he already is (part of that is being from Chicago he has a certain attitude). However, he doesn't seem to understand the work it takes.

by **shockem** » October 26th, 2012, 6:54 am

Sounds a lot like we dealt with with jt durley. It took a few years but he had a heck of a senior year.

by **uniftw** » October 26th, 2012, 10:19 am

shockem wrote:Sounds a lot like we dealt with with jt durley. It took a few years but he had a heck of a senior year.

It's frustrating as fans to see a 6'9 250ish lb kid that has the skill/speed to be a very good player at a position we need not willing to put the work in.

I imagine it's worse for the coaches who have to actually deal with it