Randolph Morris

Last updated

Randolph Morris
Personal information
Born (1986-01-02) January 2, 1986 (age 38)
Houston, Texas
NationalityAmerican
Listed height6 ft 11 in (2.11 m)
Listed weight275 lb (125 kg)
Career information
High schoolLandmark Christian
(Fairburn, Georgia)
College Kentucky (2004–2007)
NBA draft 2005: undrafted
Playing career2007–2019
Position Center / power forward
Career history
2007–2008 New York Knicks
2008–2010 Atlanta Hawks
2010–2018 Beijing Ducks
2019 Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut
Career highlights and awards
Stats   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg at NBA.com
Stats   OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg at Basketball-Reference.com

Randolph Albert Morris (born January 2, 1986) is a retired former American professional basketball player.

Contents

High school

As a senior for Atlanta, Georgia's Landmark Christian High School, Morris nearly averaged a triple-double [1] at 23.0 ppg, 16.0 rpg and 8.0 bpg, which earned him McDonald's All-American Team status. Randolph Morris was the #2 rated center and #10 overall prospect by Rivals.com in a year when a record eight high schoolers went directly to the NBA draft. Morris strongly considered a jump straight to the NBA as well, but decided to spend at least a year in school. Kentucky won a late recruiting battle, after drawing Morris away from early favorite Georgia Tech. [2] Morris, along with All-Americans Joe Crawford and Rajon Rondo, gave Kentucky the top-rated recruiting class in the nation. [3] Also, in that same recruiting class was Kentucky teammate Ramel Bradley.

College

After a solid debut in his first year at Kentucky, Morris decided to declare for the 2005 NBA draft but did not hire an agent. He averaged 8.8 points per game and 4.2 rebounds. Despite playing well for Kentucky and starting every game but one, he did not prove himself NBA ready and often got in foul trouble. Morris went undrafted and decided to attempt a return to Kentucky. The NCAA agreed to reinstate him, but not before sitting out the first half of the 2005–2006 season. Morris returned to Kentucky in January 2006, but could not help the team get out of its season-long slump. Nevertheless, he improved in almost every statistical category from his freshman year and was very impressive at times. As a sophomore, he averaged 13.3 points and 6 rebounds per game. In his junior season Morris made further progress, averaging 16.1 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game, earning first team All-SEC honors.

Professional career

After his freshman year at Kentucky, Morris declared himself eligible for the 2005 NBA draft. He went undrafted, but since he did not hire an agent, Morris was allowed to return to the Wildcats to continue playing college basketball.

At the same time, because the NBA's collective bargaining agreement prohibited him from re-entering into a future draft, Morris was also legally a free agent who could be signed at any time. That meant he would be able to leave Kentucky in the middle of the college basketball season if signed by an NBA team. [4]

Morris took advantage of his free agent status, and signed a two-year, $1.6 million contract with the New York Knicks on March 23, 2007, five days after Kentucky was eliminated from the NCAA tournament. [5] Morris became the first player in history to go from the NCAA to the NBA in the same week, when he signed with the Knicks.

When UK's then head coach Tubby Smith resigned and took the same job with the Minnesota Golden Gophers, Kentucky's athletic director Mitch Barnhart asked Morris to defer making a decision about turning pro until after the administration found a new head coach to replace Smith, but he chose to sign with New York instead of waiting.

After spending parts of two seasons playing with the Knicks, Morris joined the NBA Summer League team of the Atlanta Hawks in 2008, and subsequently signed a two-year, $1.7 million contract with the Hawks on July 29. [6] He would then spend the next two seasons as a member of Atlanta's roster.

Morris moved to the Beijing Ducks of the Chinese Basketball Association ahead of the 2010-11 season. [7] In his second season in China, he and teammate Stephon Marbury led Beijing to its first-ever CBA title. In 2014, the Ducks won their second championship, and Morris was named the CBA Finals MVP. Beijing repeated as champions in 2015, giving the Ducks a run of three titles in four years.

NBA career statistics

Legend
  GPGames played  GS Games started MPG Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage 3P%  3-point field goal percentage FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game APG  Assists per game SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game PPG Points per game Bold Career high

Regular season

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
2006–07 New York 508.8.167.000.3331.8.2.4.2.8
2007–08 New York 18210.1.362.000.4832.1.1.2.13.1
2008–09 Atlanta 2303.9.412.0001.000.9.1.1.0.8
2009–10 Atlanta 2804.4.561.000.5931.4.1.2.12.2
Career7425.9.426.000.5451.4.1.2.11.9

Playoffs

YearTeamGPGSMPGFG%3P%FT%RPGAPGSPGBPGPPG
2009 Atlanta 302.7.000.000.000.7.0.3.0.0
2010 Atlanta 303.3.500.0001.000.7.0.0.01.0
Career603.0.333.0001.000.7.0.2.0.5

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nazr Mohammed</span> American basketball player (born 1977)

Nazr Tahiru Mohammed is an American former professional basketball player who had a journeyman career in the National Basketball Association (NBA), playing for eight different teams over 18 seasons. He is the current general manager of the Oklahoma City Blue and a pro scout for the Oklahoma City Thunder. He played college basketball for Kentucky.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Keith Bogans</span> American basketball player (born 1980)

Keith Ramon Bogans is an American former basketball player who last served as an assistant coach for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for Kentucky.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shavlik Randolph</span> American basketball player (born 1983)

Ronald Shavlik Randolph is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Duke Blue Devils after a decorated high school career. After going undrafted in the 2005 NBA draft, Randolph played parts of eight seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kelenna Azubuike</span> Nigerian-American basketball player

Kelenna David Azubuike is an English-born Nigerian-American former professional basketball player and currently the Golden State Warriors television analyst on NBC Sports Bay Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Josh Smith</span> American basketball player (born 1985)

Joshua Smith is an American former professional basketball player who played 13 seasons in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Entering the NBA straight out of high school, Smith played nine seasons with the Atlanta Hawks before playing for the Detroit Pistons, Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers between 2013 and 2016. His final stint in the NBA came in November 2017 with the New Orleans Pelicans. He is sometimes referred to by his nickname "J-Smoove".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aaron Brooks (basketball)</span> American basketball player (born 1985)

Aaron Jamal Brooks is an American professional basketball coach and former player. He was selected 26th overall in the 2007 NBA draft. Brooks won the NBA Most Improved Player Award for the 2009–10 season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wilson Chandler</span> American basketball player (born 1987)

Wilson Jamall Chandler is an American former professional basketball player who played in the NBA for 13 seasons, mainly with the New York Knicks and the Denver Nuggets. He has also played for Zhejiang Guangsha of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA) during the 2011 NBA lockout. He played college basketball for the DePaul Blue Demons for two years before declaring for the 2007 NBA draft, where he was a first-round selection of the Knicks. Chandler is listed at 6 ft 8 in. and 225 lbs. He can play both forward positions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Malcolm Delaney</span> American basketball player

Malcolm Hakeem Delaney is a former American professional basketball player who last played for Croatian KK Split of the ABA League and the Premijer Liga. He is from Baltimore, Maryland, and attended Towson Catholic High School. Delaney played college basketball for the Virginia Tech Hokies men's basketball team. At the end of his college career, Delaney declared for the 2011 NBA draft. He was not drafted, and instead began his professional basketball career overseas, playing one season each for Élan Chalon, Budivelnyk Kyiv, and Bayern Munich, and later joined Lokomotiv Kuban for two seasons. In 2016, he earned an All-EuroLeague First Team selection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alex Poythress</span> American basketball player

Alex Poythress is an American-born naturalized Ivorian professional basketball player who last played for Olimpia Milano of the Italian Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) and the EuroLeague. He won the Gatorade Player of the Year in Tennessee in 2011–12 in his senior year of high school, and was the TSSAA Class AAA Mr. Basketball his senior year. He was a 5-star recruit out of Northeast High School in Clarksville, Tennessee, during 2011–12. He played college basketball for the University of Kentucky. Finished his career with 966 points, 597 rebounds and 77 blocks, becoming just the 12th player in program history with at least 900 points, at least 500 rebounds and at least 70 blocks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nerlens Noel</span> American basketball player (born 1994)

Nerlens Noel is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Brooklyn Nets of the National Basketball Association (NBA). His collegiate basketball career ended in his first season with a tear of his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) at the University of Kentucky. Noel was drafted with the sixth overall pick in the 2013 NBA draft by the New Orleans Pelicans. His rights were later traded to the Philadelphia 76ers. He plays center and power forward, and was one of the top high school basketball players in the class of 2012.

Joseph Reshard Crawford II is an American former professional basketball player. He formerly played at the University of Kentucky and was selected with the 58th overall pick by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2008 NBA draft. He signed with the Lakers on August 27, 2008, but was waived October 22, during the 2008–09 pre-season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Young (basketball)</span> American basketball player (born 1995)

James Young is an American professional basketball player who last played for Varese of the Lega Basket Serie A. He played one season of college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats before being selected with the 17th overall pick in the 2014 NBA draft by the Boston Celtics. He spent the majority of his rookie NBA season playing in the NBA Development League for the Celtics' affiliate team, the Maine Red Claws. In 2019-20 he was the top scorer in the Israel Basketball Premier League, with an average of 20.5 points per game.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solomon Hill (basketball)</span> American basketball player (born 1991)

Solomon Jamar Hill is an American professional basketball player who last played for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Arizona Wildcats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Skal Labissière</span> Haitian basketball player (born 1996)

Skal Labissière is a Haitian professional basketball player for the Stockton Kings of the NBA G League. He graduated from Lausanne Collegiate School in Memphis, Tennessee, before playing one season of college basketball for Kentucky. Labissière has also played for the Sacramento Kings and Portland Trail Blazers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Allonzo Trier</span> American basketball player

Allonzo Brian Trier is an American former professional basketball player. He played college basketball for the Arizona Wildcats. As a sophomore in 2016–17, he earned second-team all-conference honors in the Pac-12 and was named the most outstanding player in the Pac-12 tournament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin Knox II</span> American basketball player (born 1999)

Kevin Devon Knox II is an American professional basketball player for the Santa Cruz Warriors of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats. Knox was selected ninth overall by the New York Knicks in the 2018 NBA draft.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isaac Humphries</span> Australian basketball player

Isaac Bradley Humphries is an Australian professional basketball player for the Adelaide 36ers of the National Basketball League (NBL). He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mitchell Robinson</span> American basketball player (born 1998)

Mitchell Robinson III is an American professional basketball player for the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He was selected with the 36th overall pick in the 2018 NBA draft. Before beginning his professional career, he gained national coverage for withdrawing from his commitment to attend Western Kentucky University to instead dedicate the entire 2017–18 season for training on his own, being the first player to make such a decision.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Omari Spellman</span> American-Lebanese basketball player (born 1997)

Omari Spellman is an American-Lebanese professional basketball player who last played for Anyang Jung Kwan Jang Red Boosters of the Korean Basketball League (KBL). He played college basketball for the Villanova Wildcats, winning a national championship in 2018. Spellman was drafted 30th overall by the Atlanta Hawks in the 2018 NBA draft.

Sharife Omar Cooper is an American professional basketball player for the Liaoning Flying Leopards of the Chinese Basketball Association (CBA). He played college basketball for the Auburn Tigers.

References

  1. ↑ Kentucky's Morris should pull out of draft
  2. ↑ Davis, Seth (May 31, 2004), College Basketball: Who's No. 1? Archived July 23, 2012, at archive.today , Sports Illustrated
  3. ↑ "Rivals.com Top 25 for 2004". Rivals.com. Retrieved March 12, 2007.
  4. ↑ Wojnarowski, Adrian (December 11, 2006). "The Problematic Prospect". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved April 4, 2007.
  5. ↑ "Knicks sign Kentucky center Morris to 2-year deal". ESPN.com. March 23, 2007. Retrieved March 23, 2007.
  6. ↑ "Hawks land big man". Archived from the original on July 28, 2012. Retrieved July 29, 2008.
  7. ↑ "Former Wildcat Randolph Morris shines in Beijing debut". AllKYhoops.com. Retrieved January 21, 2012.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.