We caught up with Randolph Morris this week as he gets ready to return to China. Here is the full story: https://t.co/bM82caXdIu
Randolph Morris
- Thread starter KSTV
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We caught up with Randolph Morris this week as he gets ready to return to China. Here is the full story: https://t.co/bM82caXdIu
Gillispie should have caused numerous people to be fired. There is no excuse, none, in a coach like that being hired at a place like Kentucky. There should have been no second chance for the people in control of that hire. They've got too much tradition, exposure, and resources at their disposal to blunder that pitifully. And to do it after Tubby's ending, where we were already in a difficult spot. Smdh. Still can't believe it.
Morris was a difficult guy at U.K. But he's exactly right about the growth. It also speaks a bit toward the belief that handlers and families will absolutely steer a kid wrong for self gains. I don't care what your kid is, pushing him into directions with the self interest of others in mind (even family ) is wrong. Morris should have been worrying about his education, growth, career, financial stability long term etc. Not what's best for his cousins and brothers and mom. That comes later, not when you're 19.
There are exceptions like Bledsoe of course.
Morris was a difficult guy at U.K. But he's exactly right about the growth. It also speaks a bit toward the belief that handlers and families will absolutely steer a kid wrong for self gains. I don't care what your kid is, pushing him into directions with the self interest of others in mind (even family ) is wrong. Morris should have been worrying about his education, growth, career, financial stability long term etc. Not what's best for his cousins and brothers and mom. That comes later, not when you're 19.
There are exceptions like Bledsoe of course.
Can't help but wonder what Cal would have done with him and Crawford. Got to think they'd have had much better careers as pros.
Think what Cal could have done with that entire class? Tubby was not the coach Rondo needed in college. He would have been an absolute star under Cal.
Crawford was a nice college player, but would have never done much in the pro's. Just not quick enough, not explosive enough, not a great shooter, not tall for his position. He was a slightly lesser version of Bogans, and I'm surprised Bogans lasted in the NBA as long as he did.
I am NOT a Tubby basher. But this one ^, (Rondo) I can agree with!
Tubby did well with the players who weren't elite athletes, who were missing something NBA likes. Daniels, Estill, Hayes, Bogans, Bradley, Fitch. Those were good fits for Tubby. The top prospect guys, Rondo, Stone, Morris, were not.
Rondo would have been a superstar
When I was in college, Derrick Jasper hung out at our house one night. He was banging our neighbor at the time and I guess the girls next door were in a roommate argument or something. We berated him with all kinds of questions but he was cool about it. He told us that one time in practice he picked off a pass, ran down the court and reverse dunked. Tubby stopped the scrimmage. He told his players not to do things like that because they most likely won't happen in a game. Tubby was so focused on half court sets both on offense and defense, Jasper said the whistle blew almost every time down the court. And we wonder why elite talent wasn't banging on our door too often during the Tubby years.
I'm a Tubby fan. Really nice guy and good coach. But I'd rather see him succeed at another school. Thinking about what Cal could have done with that Rondo/Crawford/Bradley/Morris/Sparks class, or even the Jasper/Meeks/Stevenson/Harris class...damn!
I'm a Tubby fan. Really nice guy and good coach. But I'd rather see him succeed at another school. Thinking about what Cal could have done with that Rondo/Crawford/Bradley/Morris/Sparks class, or even the Jasper/Meeks/Stevenson/Harris class...damn!
Believe in 2007 Tubbs requested the game be changed from a standard court to a shuffleboard.
I'm sure not a Tubby fan after the way he left..He ran out on the team that paid him millions and millions..He ran out on the kids he was trusted to watch over..ran out without a word to them before or after..So thankful for Cal..If you could search my posts .I was on here saying please hire Cal when we got BCG
I know all those players would have been better under Cal.
However, if Cal had come instead of BG how would that have worked out? Was Derrick Rose coming to Memphis at that time? Would he have followed Cal to UK? Rose's trouble would have been on UK and that would not have been good. I'm not sure of the timeline and I'm too lazy to look it up.
But we aren't duke and I'm sure Bagley getting cleared will be the last anyone hears about that. Different story with Rose and Cal.
Hypocracy at its best.
I remember Morris being a complete beast his final season, am I remembering that correctly or is it just my imagination?
I thought he played well, the year that we played in Hawaii, we met him and Jasper and both were kind of shy but Morris was over the top shy. Our fans were annoyed that he didn't show emotion, I never understood that stance, the kid wasn't made that way.
By his junior year he was still the best pure college center UK had in that time since Sam Bowie. Sounds stupid at first glance, but the numbers don't lie.
He put up 17, 8, and 2 blocks a game his 3rd year with multiple 20/10 games. Gimme that dude on the block.
You don't read very well...
name a better one. And if you say either Magloire or Mohammed (in college), I'll e-bitchslap you. Both were great defenders and rebounders. Not much offensive game in college. Talking college only. Morris' junior year was damn good. Just didn't have anything else around him.
17,8, and 2 in a 40 minute college game = nothing. 8 rebounds a game while giving nothing is miraculous.
Your math/reasoning is impeccable.
Meh.
He played soft as fu. His legacy, with me, lives in medocrity.. he gave stats but he could have dominated but never seemed to care. I know you're too young to remember so you get a wromanpass.
?
I'm almost 48.
Randolph Morris was, at the time, the best center UK had had since Sam Bowie. Objective, statistical, measurable, facts.
Imagine if he had tried. Might have averaged 19 points and 10 rebounds a game instead of 17 and 8.
That whole 2nd part was spot on. It's hard to think long term when you're 20 and have never had to. It's a tough lesson to learn because you have to fail to learn it. Just like he said though that's how you mature and grow as a person.
Romeo damn near led us in points, rebounds, assists, and steals one year. Why do y'all act like he had an awful career here?
Nah he was really good. I agree that he was the best actual offensive center I'd seen at Kentucky, probably till Cuz came around.
No he wouldn't had, in fact he would have been shown the door or never been here. Cal will not coach someone like Rondo, he could of had him at Memphis but didn't want him on his team. This insane assumption that Rondo's short comings are always Tubby's fault needs to end. Rondo was a huge problem that no other coach wanted, his home town school made up a phony recruitment just to avoid giving him a chance. After his HS coach begged Tubby to take him he ended up here. Tubby was always too nice to a fault and the only thing that kid did here was what his handlers told him to.
I was laughed at, rediculed, cussed at on this board when I posted that Tubby was not using Rondo right and I stated that Rondo was a future NBA. Star. Much the same way I and many others were attacked when we said the same thing about how Cal was not untilizing Skal the right way. All from the same posters that seem to want to attack anyone with a criticism of current coach
Always blindly defending the coach even when it costs us a title.
I was always frustrated that Tubby every year would say that this year's team was going to 'run', but then he never seemed to prepare his team to do so.
But the way some of you guys talk, it sounds like he was slowing the game to a crawl. The facts are that while the pace of play under Tubby was definitely lower than what UK did under Pitino, it was about on par with the NCAA average and was higher than the current pace of play under Calipari. (see chart below).
Note that I don't have the last two seasons charted. Last year in particular there was a noticeable uptick in game pace (~73) which was better suited for that team with Fox, Monk etc.
As far as player development, I agree that Tubby seemed to be really good with the top-30 to 75 guys while Cal seems to excel with the top tier guys.
There's a number of people (including many UK fans) who like to make light of the 'mysterious' fax, but I still don't really understand exactly what it is they are questioning.
Seems to me a lot of them question whether there ever was a fax at all, which is ridiculous because anyone paying attention at the time he announced his decision to enter the NBA draft knows he did so by fax. In fact in the weeks after his decision he was criticized in the press (and on message boards) because he sent a fax rather than tell it to Tubby in person.
There are some questions about how the fax got lost and why it showed up when it did (which I discuss in detail in the page below), but the mere existence of the fax isn't one of them.
Link to Randolph Morris and the 'Mysterious' Fax
Seems to me that there's a number of UK fans at the time who couldn't get over the initial disappointment in Morris (mainly that he wasn't Dwight Howard along with a facial expression that suggested indifference), and probably the disappointment in his poor decision to declare for the NBA draft when he did, to recognize that by the final season of his career at UK (his junior year) he indeed had become one of the most productive big men UK had in a very long time.
I'll go even further and say that during that particular season, he was one of the better big men in the country. At 16 ppg and nearly 8 rpg he was a very productive player.
Consider his competition that year. The 1st team AA center was Tyler Hansbrough, who Morris outscored 23-7 earlier in the season, scored 18.4 and 7.9 rpg that season. Greg Oden was 2nd team AA with comparable numbers to Morris of 15.7 ppg and 9.6 rpg.
Al Horford, Aaron Gray, Nick Fazekas, Spencer Hawes ? They were all good players but none were clearly more productive than Morris was that year. (other than arguable Fazekas who didn't play in a power conference.)
FWIW, looking at the NBA draft that year, the best center overall was drafted in the second round at #48 overall in Marc Gasol.
There's a number of people (including many UK fans) who like to make light of the 'mysterious' fax, but I still don't really understand exactly what it is they are questioning.
Seems to me a lot of them question whether there ever was a fax at all, which is ridiculous because anyone paying attention at the time he announced his decision to enter the NBA draft knows he did so by fax. In fact in the weeks after his decision he was criticized in the press (and on message boards) because he sent a fax rather than tell it to Tubby in person.
There are some questions about how the fax got lost and why it showed up when it did (which I discuss in detail in the page below), but the mere existence of the fax isn't one of them.
Link to Randolph Morris and the 'Mysterious' Fax
Oh, I'm not questioning its existence or legitimacy. I just find it hilarious that the head coach somehow misplaced such an important document.
The only other guy that could remotely be in the discussion would be Leron Ellis. I agree though, Morris is probably the best center between Bowie and Cousins. The only argument to be made for Magloire and Mohammed would be that they were both First team All SEC and Randolph was only 3rd Team his Sophomore year.
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