| Sean Morris Transfers to Join YSU Program |
| Tuesday, June 20 2006 |
| Courtesy of: |
| Youngstown – Sean Morris, a 6-foot, 175-pound guard who spent the past two seasons at Colorado State, has joined the Youngstown State men’s basketball program, Head Coach Jerry Slocum announced on Tuesday. Morris will have to sit out the 2006-07 campaign, but will have two years of eligibility remaining following next season. In his two seasons with the Rams, Morris, a native of Katy, Texas, scored 423 points, grabbed 93 rebounds and had 84 assists. He played in 50 games, starting a total of 16 contests. A solid perimeter shooter, he made 89-of-219 3-pointers converting an impressive 40.6 percent of his shots from outside the arc. He was also a sharpshooter from the free-throw line going 78-of-97, for a percentage of 80.4. Head Coach Jerry Slocum said adding a transfer with Morris’s abilities keeps the momentum of the program surging forward. “We are extremely excited to add a player like Sean to our program.” Slocum said. “He has played numerous games at a high level and has shown that he has the ability to compete against those types of programs. He comes from a great basketball family with his dad having spent 11 years in the NBA and his brother having played four years at the Division I level. “He brings an added dimension to our team and gives us a player who could become one of the best perimeter shooters in our conference.” Morris said he has plenty of ties to the state of Ohio and that helped him when he was making his decision to transfer. His grandmother is a Youngstown State graduate and he has family throughout the state. Also, he said the program is one on the rise. “They are doing some good things there,” Morris said. “It looks like the coaches are running a great program and it will nice to be a part of something like that.” Morris has a strong basketball lineage. In his two years at CSU he played alongside his brother, Michael. Their father Chris Morris played in the NBA for 11 seasons from 1989-99 playing for New Jersey, Utah and Phoenix. As a sophomore, he helped the Rams to a 16-15 record by playing in 30 games and making five starts. For the year he scored 258 points, averaging 8.6 per game. He had 44 assists, 41 rebounds and 31 steals as well. From behind the 3-point line he was 50-of-133 (37.6 percent) while making 56-of-70 free throws (80 percent). His big night was a 34-point outing against rival Colorado. Against the Buffaloes he tied his own school record by making nine 3-pointers on 16 attempts. He ranked 12th in the Mountain West averaging 1.67 3-pointers made per contest. During his freshman year, he played in 20 games and started 11. He scored 165 points, averaging 8.3 per game, to go along with 52 rebounds, 40 assists and 19 steals. His scoring average was the second best among freshmen in the Mountain West Conference. From behind the 3-point line he converted 38-of-86 3-point attempts (45.3 percent). In MWC games he was second averaging 2.57 a game and was third in 3-point percentage (48.6 making 36-of-74 attempts). His big contest was a 31-point performance at UNLV when he drilled nine treys in the game, the first of two times in his career that occurred. When he came to the YSU campus recently, he said he liked his visit and that he fit in well with the players. “I spent a lot of time with the guys on the team and they all seemed pretty nice,” he said. “I got the chance to mess around with them on the court and I liked how they played.” During his upcoming redshirt campaign in 2006-07, Morris said he plans to do the little things that will make a difference when he returns to the court in 2007-08. “I plan on spending even more time in the weight room because you can never get too strong. When you’re a two guard you need to have some extra strength.” Notes: Will sit out the 2006-07 per NCAA transfer rules…will have two years of eligibility remaining beginning in the 2007-08 season…in two seasons with the Rams, scored 423 points, grabbed 93 rebounds and had 84 assists…played in 50 games while starting 16 contests…made 89-of-219 3-pointers for a percentage of .406. 2005-06 (Sophomore) Played in 30 games and made five starts…Rams were 16-15 for the year…scored 258 points, averaging 8.6 per contest…grabbed 41 rebounds and had 44 assists…also finished with 31 steals…played a total of 554 minutes…was 76-of-198 from the field (38.4 percent)…made 50-of-133 3-point attempts (37.6 percent)…was 56-of-70 from the free-throw line (80 percent)…scored in double figures 12 times…had a career-high 34 against rival Colorado (Nov. 21)…against the Buffaloes tied his own school record with 9 3-pointers made and set the mark with 16 attempts…was 10-of-18 from the field for the contest and 5-of-6 from the free-throw line…also had a season-high five rebounds…in two games against Utah had 18 and 17 points…had 15 against IUPUI and UC-Colorado Springs…scored 13 against TCU (Feb. 22) and at San Diego State (Jan. 4)..had 12 points at Kansas State and at New Mexico (Jan. 7)…scored 11 against the Horned Frogs in the first round of the Mountain West tournament…had 10 at Northern Colorado and versus Pepperdine…made a 3-pointer in 23 games…drilled five at Utah and made four against UC-Colorado Springs…at Utah (Feb. 15) hit a 3-pointer to force overtime before making two in the extra-session helping the Rams to win…was 8-of-9 from the free-throw line versus TCU (Feb. 22)…made four-or-more free throws on five occasions…attempted double figures in field goals six times…had a season-high five assists against Utah (Jan. 14)…had three assists on five other occasions…picked up a season-high four steals against Wyoming (Jan. 15)…ranked 12th in the Mountain West averaging 1.67 3-pointers per contest. 2004-05 (Freshman) Played in 20 games and made 11 starts…Rams were 11-17 for the campaign…scored 165 points, averaging 8.3 per contest…he had 52 rebounds, 40 assists and 19 steals…played a total of 439 minutes…was 52-of-125 (41.6 percent) from the field…made 39-of-86 3-point attempts (45.3 percent)…was 22-of-27 from the free-throw line (81.5 percent)…scored in double figures on seven occasions…had a season-high 31 points at UNLV (Jan. 22)…against the Runnin’ Rebels was 9-of-14 from 3-point range and 10-of-17 from the field…the nine made were a school record…he also finished with five assists in the contest…scored 19 against UNLV in second meeting of the year…drilled five 3-pointers in that contest…had 17 against San Diego State (Feb. 19), 15 against New Mexico (Feb. 5) and Wyoming (Feb. 26), 12 versus BYU (Jan. 15) and 11 at SDSU (Jan. 24)…made 3-pointers in 14 games…made five against New Mexico (Feb. 5) and four against Wyoming (Feb. 26)…from the free-throw line made 19 of his last 21 attempts…converted a season-high five free throws against SDSU (Feb. 19)…had double figures in field-goal attempts on four occasions…grabbed a season-high nine rebounds against New Mexico (Feb. 5)…also had eight boards versus BYU (Jan. 15)…had five assists on twice – at UNLV and at New Mexico (March 5)…recorded three steals at UNLV and at BYU…in league contests, ranked second in 3-points made, averaging 2.57 per game…was third in 3-point percentage in league games at 48.6 percent (36-of-74)… was second in the MWC in scoring average for a freshman. High School Was a three-year starter and letterwinner at Cinco Ranch…averaged 16 points per game as a senior…earned all-state (Class 5-A second team) and all-district honors as a junior and senior…was a three-time all-conference selection…team won three consecutive conference and district titles…was a two-time team Most Valuable Player pick…set school marks for career points and 3-point field goals…coach was Rick Ellis…also competed in track and field…participated in jumps and sprint relays. Personal Parents are Michelle and Chris Morris…his brother, Michael, played for Colorado State from 2002-2006…his father Chris played in the NBA for 11 seasons from 1989-99 playing for New Jersey, Utah and Phoenix. |