SPORTS GROUCH - Late Bloomer

Posted 6/26/19

Despite the hoopla about South Carolinian Zion Williamson, there is an even better basketball story.

It’s about a kid from Sumter who none of the big college coaches recruited. 

In …

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SPORTS GROUCH - Late Bloomer

Posted

Despite the hoopla about South Carolinian Zion Williamson, there is an even better basketball story.
It’s about a kid from Sumter who none of the big college coaches recruited. 
In fact, when Ja Morant graduated from Crestwood High School, few thought he would be picked No. 2 right behind  Williamson last week – but he was.
This is almost as unlikely as 2 SC high school kids being the 1st and 2nd picks in the NBA draft this year. But it happened as Williamson was picked by the New Orleans Pelicans and Morant by the Memphis Grizzlies. 
Incredible as it seems, neither played college basketball in our state.  

The leap counts
Neither are tall by NBA standards, but both can play above the rim. Williamson is 6’7” with a 40-inch vertical leap. Morant is 6’3 with a 44” vertical leap.
Williamson was highly recruited at Spartanburg Day School and went to Duke.
He played a single season, was unable to help the Blue Devils win another national championship and turned pro at the season’s end.
In contrast, Ja Morant was unranked by recruiting services despite being named All-State at Crestwood.
His father, Tee, played at Claflin University in Orangeburg and had a short career in pro basketball overseas.
In their backyard, his father taught Ja step-back jump shots and bought tractor tires for him to practice jumping with a soft landing.
Ja played for the S.C. Hornets, a small grassroots team in Columbia. For a single season, he and Zion were teammates.
In 3 years at Crestwood, he was its all-time leading scorer with 1,679 points and set a career-high with 56 points against Sumter. 
He averaged 27 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists a game. He earned Class 3A All-State honors and was 3-time All-Region Most Valuable Player – yet wasn’t big enough to dunk the basketball until his senior year.
 As a freshman at Murray State, he won 1st-team All-Conference honors and was named its Player of the Year, led the NCAA in assists and became the 1st player in NCAA history to average in a season 20 points and 10 assists a game.  
The secret sauce
Here’s how this happens:
• Having parents who take a keen interest in anything that you’re good at. Look what former pro Dale Curry’s coaching did for his sons Steph and Seth.
• Coaches such as those at Crestwood and Murray State can build on what your parents did for you.
• Playing for a small school can give you more playing time and experience. It can turn a potential big fish into a shark.

The Sports Grouch welcomes your emails at ChronicleSports@yahoo.com. 

Morant, Zion, NBA

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