Terp's Morris is a Star Waiting to Happen
8/3/1999 8:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Aug. 10, 1999
By Brett Friedlander
Eastern Basketball
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. - He's an explosive scorer who can also rebound and defend. And with former Maryland teammate Steve Francis joining half of Duke's returning underclassmen in the NBA draft, he's the preseason favorite to become the Atlantic Coast Conference's next Player of the Year.
If you haven't heard much about Terence Morris, don't worry.
You're not alone.
But that's about the change, now that the sleek 6-foot-9 forward has finally been liberated from the shadows of Francis and the other media darlings who joined him on the All-ACC first-team.
"Every once in a while you have a player where you don't see any ceiling to his game," Maryland coach Gary Williams said. "Terence has a chance to be great, and I don't say that about a lot of players."
That Morris is bordering on greatness is no news flash.
His first season with the Terrapins ended with his selection to the ACC All-Rookie team. He followed that up by averaging 15 points and seven rebounds per game to become only the fourth Maryland sophomore to earn All-ACC first -team honors.
He played particularly well when it counted the most, hitting for consecutive double-doubles in the NCAA Tournament by going for 18 points and 10 rebounds against Valparaiso and 20 points and 12 rebounds against Creighton.
"We felt we really needed to control Morris," Valparaiso coach Home Drew said. "And we could not. He can shoot the three. He puts the ball on the floor. He gets to the rim. He's something special."
Quietly, Morris ranks sixth on his school's career list in blocked shots and seventh in field goal percentage. He needs just 243 points to reach the 1,000 mark, making him on the fifth Terrapin to amass that many before the end of his junior year.
His consistency and versatility played a major roll in the Terrapins winning a school-record 28 games in 1998-99.
But because those qualities don't translate to videotape as well as Francis's acrobatics open-floor dunks and behind-the-back passes, he went largely unnoticed to all but those who saw him play regularly. His chances for recognition increased significantly when Francis was selected second overall in the NBA Draft by the Vancouver Grizzlies. Former Duke stars, Elton Brand, Trajan Langdon, William Avery and Corey Maggette were also taken in the first round, making Morris the best returning player in the ACC.
It's a role for which he's already preparing himself.
Since recovering from a broken right foot suffered in a pickup game on April Fool's Day, Morris has spent considerable time in the gym working on his ballhandling.
If he shows the same dedication for that task as he did his objective over the previous summer - bulking up in the weight room - ACC defenders are going to have their hands full trying to stop him.
"He'll be Scottie Pippen-like in the NBA," Wake Forest head coach Dave Odom said. "Except that he's taller."
As unlimited as the future seems for Morris, he insists that he's not in a hurry to get it started.
"I see myself remaining here for four years," he said. "It's just something that I want to do. To get a degree, to graduate from college.
I really do like it here (at Maryland). I don't want to grow up to fast and go out into the world. The NBA is a big jump. I don't feel that I am ready for that yet."
He's liable to change his tune once everyone finds out who he is next season.
