BleedGopher
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per Axios Sports:
Murray State sophomore point guard Ja Morant is months away from being a lottery pick in the NBA draft, with many scouts projecting him to go as high as No. 2 overall.
Why it matters: This wasn't supposed to happen.
Morant was an unranked recruit out of high school and his only scholarship offers were from South Carolina State and Maryland-Eastern Shore before Murray State assistant James Kane stumbled upon him.
A year ago, he wasn't even named the top freshman in the Ohio Valley Conference.
Fast-forward to this year: Morant is putting up unprecedented numbers: 24.3 points, 10.1 assists, 5.4 rebounds per game, while shooting nearly 50% from the field.
He's on pace to become the first player since assist leaders were recognized to average 20 points and 10 assists, per FiveThirtyEight. Heck, only 10 players in the past 25 years have even averaged 16 and 8.
Another wild stat: Morant's 53.8% assist rate is projected to be the top mark ever measured.
To add to the intrigue: This is happening in the shadows. When Morant became the first D-I player in 20 years to put up 40 points, 11 assists and 5 steals in a game, there were fewer than 2,200 people in the crowd.
Go Gophers!!
Murray State sophomore point guard Ja Morant is months away from being a lottery pick in the NBA draft, with many scouts projecting him to go as high as No. 2 overall.
Why it matters: This wasn't supposed to happen.
Morant was an unranked recruit out of high school and his only scholarship offers were from South Carolina State and Maryland-Eastern Shore before Murray State assistant James Kane stumbled upon him.
A year ago, he wasn't even named the top freshman in the Ohio Valley Conference.
Fast-forward to this year: Morant is putting up unprecedented numbers: 24.3 points, 10.1 assists, 5.4 rebounds per game, while shooting nearly 50% from the field.
He's on pace to become the first player since assist leaders were recognized to average 20 points and 10 assists, per FiveThirtyEight. Heck, only 10 players in the past 25 years have even averaged 16 and 8.
Another wild stat: Morant's 53.8% assist rate is projected to be the top mark ever measured.
To add to the intrigue: This is happening in the shadows. When Morant became the first D-I player in 20 years to put up 40 points, 11 assists and 5 steals in a game, there were fewer than 2,200 people in the crowd.
Go Gophers!!
