Biography
Career Summary: A two-time all-conference selection who finished his career ranked second on WSU’s career blocks chart (147) and fourth in field goal percentage (.546)… Finished with 1,172 career points… Finished with 564 career rebounds (32nd all-time)…Participated in 109 Shocker victories (tied for fourth all-time)… Became just the fifth Shocker to finish with more than 1,000 points, 500 rebounds and 100 blocks, joining Robert Elmore, Antoine Carr, Xavier McDaniel and Garrett Stutz…. Part of four NCAA Tournament teams and three conference regular season titlists… Helped lead WSU to a runner-up finish in its first season in the American Athletic Conference, earning first team all-conference status… Third Team All-MVC as a junior for a Shocker team that won 31 games… 97 career dunks… Fun-loving, class clown… Three-year starter who appeared in 134 games with 82 starts… Played in four NCAA Tournaments and took part in five wins, including a Sweet 16 trip as a freshman in 2015 that included an upset of No. 2 Kansas… Redshirt on WSU’s 2013-14 team that logged the first 35-0 start in NCAA history and earned a No. 1 seed.
Individual Honors:
2x -- All-Conference: 2017 (MVC 3rd Team), 2018 (AAC, 1st Team)
1x -- NABC 1st Team All-District (2018)
1x -- MVC Player of the Week (Jan. 23, 2017)
1x -- AAC Player of the Week (Feb. 19, 2018)
4x -- AAC Honor Roll (Jan. 8, 29, Feb. 26, Mar. 5, 2018)
1x -- Maui Invitational All-Tournament Team (2018)
1x -- Shocker Radio Outstanding Defensive Player* (2018)
1x -- Ralph Miller Captain's Award* (2017)
1x -- MVC All-Freshman Team (2015)
1x -- Cleo Littleton Most Improved Player* (2016)
3x -- WSU Varsity Letterman
WSU 1,000-Point Club
*- WSU postseason banquet honor
Team Success:
3x -- MVC Regular Season Champion (2015, 16, 17)
1x -- MVC Tournament Champion (2017)
4x -- NCAA Tournament Qualifier (2015, 16, 17, 18)
1x -- NCAA Sweet 16 (2015)
2017-18 (Senior): First Team All-AAC… NABC District 25 First Team… Ranked 11th on the conference leaderboard in both scoring (14.0) and rebounding (5.6) … First Shocker since Antoine Carr to lead his conference in blocks (51; 1.6 per game)… First Shocker big man since Xavier McDaniel to garner all-conference honors in multiple seasons… Earned weekly plaudits from the conference office five times over the final two months of the regular season… Feb. 19 AAC Player of the Week… Team-high 40 dunks – most by a Marshall Era Shocker… Ranked fourth on the conference leaderboard in field goal percentage (.553)… After attempting just 15 in his first three seasons, added three-point shooting to his resume, connecting on just over 39 percent (18-of-46)… Led the American in points-per-40 during the regular season at just over 24 per game… Represented the American Athletic Conference in the inaugural 3x3U National Championship during Final Four weekend in San Antonio.
Notable Performances: Recorded two blocks against Tulsa (Jan. 28) to leapfrog Robert Elmore for second on WSU’s career blocks list…Became the 46th member of WSU’s 1,000-point club on Feb. 1 at Temple… Posted seven 20-point games and three double-doubles… On Nov. 28, scored a career-high 25 points to help WSU erase an 18-point second half deficit in the Maui Invitational quarterfinals against Cal. He was 10-of-16 from the field with seven rebounds and four blocks… Matched his career-high with 25 points in the Feb. 21 win over Tulane, hitting 10-of-13 free throws and 7-of-11 field goal attempts to go with nine boards… Keyed another dramatic comeback against Temple on Feb. 15, sinking 9-of-10 shots for 23 points and a career-high 13 rebounds as WSU erased a 14-point halftime deficit… Scored 13 points in 33 minutes to key a win at No. 5 Cincinnati on Feb. 18 and net American conference player of the week honors.
2016-17 (Junior): Third Team All-Missouri Valley Conference performer… Won MVC Player of the Week honors for the first time on Jan. 16… Received the Ralph Miller Captain’s Award at the team’s postseason banquet… Appeared in 34 of the 36 games with 23 starts… Averaged 9.6 points and 5.1 rebounds in 18.0 minutes… Led the team in dunks (20) and blocks (35)… Battled a thigh injury in late December-early January, but picked up steam after Jan. 15. Over the final 17 games he averaged 12.1 points and a team-best 6.8 rebounds with 19 blocks (compared to 7.1 points and 3.3 rebounds in the first 19 contests)… Much-improved at the foul line, where he shot .789 for the year (up from .656 as a sophomore)… In 18 Valley games, shot at an .854-clip (46-of-54) to rank fourth on the conference leaderboard… Recorded three double-doubles and topped 20-points on three occasions.
Notable Performances: Hit his first nine field goal attempts over a span of three games to begin the year… Set a career-high with five blocks and also contributed seven points and six rebounds in the Dec. 10 win over Oklahoma at Chesapeake Energy Arena.... Missed the first two conference games (Dec. 28 and Jan. 1) while recovering from a thigh injury... MVC Player of the Week for Jan. 16-22 after averaging 20.5 points and 9.0 rebounds in two games. Had his first career double-double in the Jan. 17 win at Evansville (17 points, 10 rebounds) and followed with a career-highs for points (24), free throws (12) and free throw attempts (15) against Indiana State on Jan. 21... Had back-to-back double-doubles in early February, starting with a 10-point, 11-rebound at effort at Drake (Feb. 1), and continuing Feb. 4 with 11 points, 11 boards in a first-place showdown with Illinois State... Scored 20 points and snagged five rebounds in the regular season finale at Missouri State (Feb. 25) to help the Shockers secure a piece of the MVC title... Put up 21 points and seven boards in the MVC semifinal victory over Missouri State (Mar. 4)... Averaged 9.7 points and 6.0 rebounds in WSU’s three MVC Tournaments wins... Scored in double-figures in both NCAA Tournament contests, with a 10-point, six-rebound effort against Dayton (Mar. 17) and 11 points, eight rebounds and three blocks in the second round against Kentucky (Mar. 19).
2015-16 (Sophomore): Made big strides in his sophomore season by increasing his motor and stamina, allowing him to play harder for longer stretches… Winner of the Most Improved Player Award at the team’s end of the season celebration, as voted by the WSU coaching staff… Scored in double-digits 11 times, averaging 6.8 points, 3.6 rebounds and just over a block per game in 15.6 minutes… Ranked third in the Missouri Valley Conference in total blocks (35)... Finished the year with a .566 shooting percentage – one of the five-highest ever record by a Shocker underclassman… During MVC play, ranked third on the team at 7.8 points… In 18 MVC games, posted the league’s third-highest field goal percentage (.583) and third-highest blocked shot total (17)… Finished with a team-high 22 dunks.
Notable Performances: Started the final 29 games after a lackluster start to the season, in which he totaled just 10 points through the first five games and did not see action in a Nov. 27 loss to Alabama in the Advocare Invitational… Following starting center Anton Grady’s spinal concussion injury in the Alabama game, took his game to another level, erupting for 11 points in 24 minutes off the bench against Iowa on Nov. 29… Earned a starting nod on Dec. 5 at Saint Louis and chipped in 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting to go with six rebounds… Maintained the starting role, even after Grady’s Dec. 19 return, and the two formed a lethal platoon at the center position (In 18 MVC games: 15.4 points, 7.8 rebounds and 1.8 blocks in 31.4 combined minutes)… Played his best stretch of basketball between Jan. 20 and Feb. 9, scoring in double-figures six times in seven games while averaging 11.1 points, 3.7 rebounds and 1.1 blocks… During that stretch, scored a season-high 13 in a Feb. 3 home win over Southern Illinois that extended WSU’s lead in the Valley standings to four games… Set a WSU MVC Tournament record with six blocks in the quarterfinal win over Loyola and also established a new program-best for most blocks in a single MVC Tournament (8)… Swatted at least one shot in seven-straight games from Feb. 21 to March 17 with 16 total over that stretch… Played a career-high 25 minutes in the NCAA Second Round loss to Miami, finishing with a line of 12 points, six rebounds and two steals…
2014-15 (Redshirt Freshman): A member of the Missouri Valley Conference All-Bench team after averaging 4.7 points and 2.6 rebounds… Recorded the second-highest field goal percentage ever by a Shocker freshman, connecting on 54.5 percent of his attempts (61-of-112)… Reached double-figures in scoring on three occasions, topped by a 17-point effort at Southern Illinois on Feb. 17 in which he hit 7-of-8 shots… Also matched his season rebounding high in the win at SIU, snagging seven caroms… Was left behind when the team traveled to Des Moines on Dec. 31 because of poor practice habits but used it as motivation in the days ahead… Scored nine points and blocked three shots in his first game back on Jan. 4 and followed it up with a 10-point, seven-rebound effort against Bradley, signaling the beginning of a second half surge… Led the team with 20 blocks in 17 MVC appearances… Ranked seventh in the MVC in total blocks (all games) with 26 – the fourth-highest total every by a Shocker freshman - and was eighth in blocks per game (0.8) despite playing just 12.7 minutes per contest…
2013-14 (Freshman): Spent a redshirt year sculpting his body with strength coach Kerry Rosenboom to better prepare for Division I basketball… Made big strides with his conditioning, allowing him to sprint more in transition and contribute on both ends of the floor.
High School: Helped Edmond Memorial HS to the Oklahoma Class 6A state championship as a senior in 2012-13… Averaged 20 points and 8.7 rebounds and was named The Daily Oklahoman Big All-City Player of the Year… Earned Most Valuable Player honors in the Faith 7 Basketball Bowl in Shawnee, Okla., after he scored 20 points, had nine rebounds and five blocks in Oklahoma’s 101-95 win over Texas… Signed with WSU in the fall of his senior year… OKHoops.com ranked him the No. 5 senior in Oklahoma ... Rivals.com rated him a two-star prospect on a five-star scale.Transferred from Edmond Santa Fe, where he averaged 13.6 points and eight rebounds as a junior… Helped Santa Fe to the state semifinals in back-to-back seasons as a sophomore and junior.
Personal: Son of Gerald Morris and Keith Nobine &Tonya Taylor... Has four brothers: Anthony, Dominic, Gerald and Jermain, and one sister, Cara... Born Feb. 23, 1994 in Houston, Texas... Recruited by Oral Roberts and Lamar, among many others.
