Morris Twins Make NBA Debut

Dec. 27, 2011

After nearly six months of waiting, former Jayhawks Markieff and Marcus Morris made their professional debuts Monday night for their respective NBA teams. Markieff and the Phoenix Suns played host to the New Orleans Hornets, while Marcus and his Houston Rockets teammates were in Orlando to take on the Magic.

Markieff finished his first game in the NBA with nine rebounds to go along with seven points, two steals and two blocked shots. The 6-10 forward also compiled two assists in nearly 25 minutes of play, while the Suns lost to the Hornets 95-94 in the final seconds of the contest. The older Morris averaged 11 points and 7.5 rebounds during Phoenix’s two pre-season games, while blocking four total shots.

Marcus Morris saw 4:20 of play during his first taste of professional action, but did not log any points, assists or rebounds during that stretch of time. The 6-9 forward was 0-2 from the field as the Magic beat the Rockets 104-95 at the Amway Center in Orlando. In his team’s two pre-season games, the younger Morris scored 21 points (20 at Sacramento, Dec. 21) and grabbed seven rebounds, while dishing out seven assists.

The Philadelphia natives will be back in action later this week as Markieff’s Suns will play host to his hometown 76’ers Wednesday night. Marcus and the Rockets will next take the floor against the Spurs in Houston on Thursday night.

The Morris twins are just two of the 12 total former KU basketball players that are on current NBA rosters. The complete list is as follows:

Atlanta Hawks – Kirk Hinrich
Boston Celtics – Paul Pierce
Golden State Warriors – Brandon Rush
Houston Rockets – Marcus Morris
Memphis Grizzlies – Darrell Arthur, Xavier Henry, Josh Selby
Miami Heat – Mario Chalmers
Milwaukee Bucks – Drew Gooden
Oklahoma City Thunder – Cole Aldrich, Nick Collison
Phoenix Suns – Markieff Morris