Morris Twins Stick With Tigers, Recruiting Targets

Morris twins stick with Tigers
Duo expected to go to prep school, then on to Memphis

By Dan Wolken
July 19, 2007

Twins Marcus and Markieff Morris are still committed to play basketball at the University of Memphis after all.

Just days after telling the Philadelphia Daily News they had re-opened their recruitment, the Morris twins reaffirmed their pledge to coach John Calipari and will arrive on campus in the fall of 2008, according to their mother, Angel Morris.

"They wanted to see other schools, see what was going on with other schools," Angel Morris said Wednesday. "But as we sat down as a family and talked about it, everything worked out, and (Memphis) is exactly where we're going and what we're doing."
The Morris twins, both top-100 prospects, signed letters of intent with Memphis last fall and graduated from Philadelphia Prep Charter in the spring. When they signed, the understanding among all parties was that the twins would go to prep school for a year, re-sign with Memphis, then enroll in college in 2008.

But that plan seemed off track when the twins said they were going to consider other colleges, prompting Calipari and assistant coach Derek Kellogg to make an unscheduled trip to Philadelphia on Saturday in hopes of clarifying the situation.

"(Calipari) came and said, 'Nothing has changed with us; we still want you,'" Angel Morris said. "The boys were satisfied with that. That's where we're going to stay at. By the end of the month, we'll definitely have a prep school. They're going to prep school, and in September of '08 they'll be on the Memphis campus."

That's good news for the Memphis coaching staff, which had backed off recruiting several top players at the forward positions because they had the twins on board.

"I was never worried because I knew why they chose Memphis in the first place," Calipari said Wednesday.

Marcus Morris, a 6-7 small forward, is ranked No. 34 overall by Rivals.com in the class of 2008. Markieff Morris, at 6-8, is more of a low post player and ranked 94th by Rivals.

With their commitments secure once again, Calipari can go back to work on the rest of his 2008 recruiting class. Memphis is still hoping to secure a commitment from Puerto Rican wing/forward Angel Garcia and St. George's guard Elliot Williams.

The Tigers are also involved with 6-6 Craigmont guard Terrico White, who drew a crowd that included Calipari, Tennessee's Bruce Pearl, Missouri's Mike Anderson, Arkansas' John Pelphrey and UTEP's Tony Barbee at last weekend's Battle on the Bluff AAU Tournament.

-- Dan Wolken: 529-2365

More info:

The Tigers' Class of 2008

Committed

Marcus Morris, 6-7 forward, Philadelphia

Markieff Morris, 6-8 forward, Philadelphia

Top targets

Angel Garcia, 6-10 forward, East Chicago, Ind.

Terrico White, 6-6 guard, Craigmont High

Elliot Williams, 6-4 guard, St. George's