Temetrius Jamel “Ja” Morant [2] ( born August 10, 1999 in Dalzell , South Carolina , USA ) is an American professional basketball player who plays for the Memphis Grizzlies team at the National Basketball Association . He plays as a point guard . At the student level, spoke on the team of Murray State University " Murray State Racers ". In the NBA Draft of 2019, he was selected under the second number by the Memphis Grizzlies team.
| Ja Morant | |
|---|---|
| English Temetrius jamel morant | |
 | |
| Memphis Grizzlies - No. 12 | |
| Position | Point guard |
| Growth | 191 cm [1] |
| Weight | 79 kg [1] |
| Citizenship |  USA |
| Date of Birth | August 10, 1999 (age 20) |
| Place of Birth | Dalzell , South Carolina , USA |
| School | Crestwood (Sumter, South Carolina ) |
| College | Murray State (2017–2019) |
| NBA draft | 2nd, 2019 , Memphis Grizzlies |
Content
Biography
The early years
Morant was born in Dalzell, South Carolina . [3] [4] His father, Ti Morant, was a professional basketball player, however, when Jah was born, he ended his basketball career and became a hairdresser . [2] [5] Ja trained in his backyard with his father, who taught him the step back throw and bought him tractor tires to train soft-jumping dives. [6] As a child, Ja often played against older rivals, which he always told his mother: "I don’t care about big children." [7] Morant played for the South Carolina Hornets, a small grassroots team based in Columbia , South Carolina. [8] For one season, he was a teammate with Zion Williamson , the future first NBA pick number . [eight]
Career
High School
Morant attended Crestwood School in Sumter, South Carolina. [3] In the first three years, Morant grew from 175 to 183 cm in the basketball team. [2] Morant graduated from school as the top scorer in its history, gaining 1679 points, and also set a record for points in one match - 47 in a match with the Samter School team. [3] [9] In the last two years of school, Ja scored an average of 27 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists per game. Also, during his speech for the Crestwood team, Morant became a 3-time MVP of South Carolina. [3]
College
Morant was not on the ESPN , 247Sports, or Rivals recruiting lists. [10] [11] [12] The only invitation from the NCAA Division One major program was from the University of South Carolina . [13] He was accidentally discovered by a mid-level Murray State University program in July 2016, when assistant coach James Kane visited the camp hoping to see a player joining the Murray State Racers . In search of a snack, Kane noticed that Morant plays 3x3 but on an additional site. Impressed, he contacted Racers head coach Matt McMan, who soon offered Morant a scholarship. [14] On September 3, 2016, Morant promised to play for the Murray State during dinner at McMan's house. [2] [5] [15] Morant was also invited to Dukein University , the University of Maryland Eastern Shore, South Carolina State University and Wofford College. [15]
First Course
On November 10, 2017, Morant made his debut for Murray State Racers with 7 points and 11 assists in a victory with a score of 118–61 over the University of Brescia National Association of Inter-University Sports (NAIA). [16] On December 12, he collected his first double-double in his career, gaining 10 points, 12 rebounds and 6 assists, losing to St. Louis 69–55. [17] On December 28th, Jah put together his first triple double of his career, chalking up 11 points, 10 rebounds and 14 assists in a victory over East Illinois 80-52. Morant designed the second triple double in college history, the first assembled by Isaac Miles in 1984. Ja also updated the transfer record for the CFSB Center, the Racers home arena. Prior to that, the record belonged to Aubrey Reese - 12, he made so many assists in the match against Alabama State Hornets in 1999. [18] On February 1, 2018, he set a season record with 23 points against the South Missouri State Redhawks. [19] With an average of 12.7 points, 6.5 rebounds and 6.3 assists per game, Morant ended up in the Ohio Valley Conference Team (OVC) and the OVC Rookie Team. [20] [21] He became the seventh freshman in 25 years, gaining 150 assists, 150 rebounds and 10 blocks, with a percentage of hitting the field no lower than 42. [13]
Second Course
As a sophomore, Morant took the lead at Racers after leaving key players. [22] In the debut match of the season, he scored 26 points and 11 assists in a victory over Wright State with a score of 74–53. [23] On November 24, 2018, Morant scored 29 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists in a victory over the Missouri State 77–66, becoming the first Murray State player to ever collect multiple triple doubles. [24] In his next game, he scored 38 points for him that season, losing 78–72 to Alabama . [25] Around December 2018, Morant was almost unanimously drafted into the top five of the 2019 NBA draft, and at the end of January 2019, at least one portal predicted it as the first NBA draft number in 2019 . [26]
On January 10, 2019, Morant was on the list of 25 candidates for the John Wooden Prize , an award given to the best student of the season. [27] On the same day, he broke a school record for the number of assists in one game - 18, and also scored 26 points against the University of Tennessee in Martin. [28] On January 19, he set a new personal record, gaining 40 points, 11 assists, 5 interceptions and 21/21 hitting the penalty line in a victory over SIU Edwardsville. [29] Morant broke the conference record for the number of consecutive free throws completed and became the tenth player in Murray State history to score 40 points in one game. [30] Morant also became the first player in the first division of the NCAA in 20 years, who scored at least 40 points, 10 assists and 5 interceptions in one game. [29] On February 2, Jah scored 28 points and 7 assists in a victory over the Tennessee Tech 67–63. He broke the school record for transfers for the season, set by Chad Townsend in the 1996/97 season, equal to 212 transfers. [ 25 ] After 25 points, 8 rebounds and 14 assists against East Kentucky, Morant became the 46th Murray State player with 1000 points for a college career and broke the OVC record for one-season assists that Dwayne Washington (Middle Tennessee ") held for 32 years. [32]
At the end of the regular season, he was named the Ohio Valley Conference Player of the Year and made it to the All-OVC Team, leading the NCAA first gear division . [33] [34] He later joined the first All-American team according to the US Basketball Journalists Association (USBWA) and the second team according to the American sports magazine Sporting News . [35] [36] On March 8, Morant scored 29 points in the semi-finals of the OVC against the Jacksonville State, including a two-point victory with a foul. [37] One day later, Jah scored 36 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists, defeating Belmont Bruins 77–65, who played without their main center, who got into the first All-OVC team, injured Nick Mushinsky, and took the title of the conference champion Ohio Valley. [38] Subsequently, Morant was recognized as an MVP tournament. [39] On March 21, Morant scored 17 points, 11 rebounds and 16 assists and helped his team beat Marquette 83–64 in the first round of the 2019 NCAA Tournament. He became the eighth player to officially register a triple double in tournament history. [40] In the second round, he scored 28 points in a match lost to the Florida State team with a score of 90–62. [41] During the game, Morant set school records for career assists and season points. He ended his sophomore campaign, gaining an average of 24.5 points, 5.7 rebounds, 10 assists and 1.8 interceptions per game. [20] Morant was the first NCAA player to score at least 20 points and 10 assists on average per game during the season. [42]
Personal life
Morant has a younger sister, Tenia, who grew up playing basketball in the backyard with him and now stands up for Hillcrest High School in Dalzell. [2] [43]
Morant’s left arm is filled with a tattoo with the phrase: “beneath no one” - the advice his mother gave him. [2]
Statistics
College Statistics
| Season | Team | GP | GS | MPG | FG% | 3P% | FT% | RPG | APG | SPG | BPG | PPG | |
| 2017/18 | Murray State | 32 | 32 | 34.0 | 45.9 | 30.7 | 80.6 | 6.5 | 6.3 | 0.9 | 0.4 | 12.7 | |
| 2018/19 | Murray State | 33 | 33 | 36.6 | 49.9 | 36.3 | 81.3 | 5.7 | 10.0 | 1.8 | 0.8 | 24.5 | |
| Total | 65 | 65 | 35.3 | 48.5 | 34.3 | 81.0 | 6.1 | 8.2 | 1.4 | 0.6 | 18.7 | ||
| Hover over the abbreviations in the table heading to read their interpretation | |||||||||||||
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 Ja Morant stats, details, videos, and news. | NBA.com NBA.com Date of treatment July 19, 2019.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 Jeremy Woo. Ja Morant, Murray State's High-Flying Star, Is No Longer College Hoops's Best Kept Secret . Sports Illustrated (23 January 2019). Date of treatment January 24, 2019.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 Ja Morant . Murray State University Athletics. Date of treatment December 24, 2018.
- ↑ Ja Morant . Yahoo Sports Date of treatment November 24, 2018.
- ↑ 1 2 Blake Sandlin. From Tee to Ja: Morant finishing what his father started . The Murray State News (February 22, 2018). Date of treatment December 24, 2018.
- ↑ Justin Sayers. The best NBA prospect you've never heard of? Murray State's Ja Morant . The Courier-Journal (January 29, 2019). Date of treatment January 30, 2019.
- ↑ Jeff Greer. Who's Ja Morant? The Murray State star is quietly making a name for himself and will soon be in an NBA city near you . The Athletic (December 20, 2018). Date of treatment January 30, 2019.
- ↑ 1 2 Matt Norlander. Court Report: The real story of Ja Morant and Zion Williamson playing on the same AAU team . CBS Sports (23 January 2019). Date of treatment January 30, 2019.
- ↑ Will Aubrey. Racer recruiting class 'among 10 best' . Racer Insider (November 10, 2016). Date of treatment December 24, 2018.
- ↑ Ja Morant . Rivals.com. Date of treatment December 26, 2018.
- ↑ JA Morant . ESPN . Date of treatment December 26, 2018.
- ↑ Temetrius Morant . 247Sports.com. Date of treatment December 26, 2018.
- ↑ 1 2 Jackson Hoy. 2019 Draft Primer: Ja Morant, The Ultimate Sleeper . The Stepien (29 June 2018). Date of treatment December 24, 2018.
- ↑ Chris Dortch. Once a little-known prospect, Morant has everyone's attention now . NBA (25 January 2019). Date of treatment January 28, 2019.
- ↑ 1 2 Justin Byerly. Future Racer: Ja Morant . Prep Hoops (February 16, 2017). Date of treatment December 24, 2018.
- ↑ Racers Lockdown Brescia - Hawkins On Fire With 28 Points . Murray State University Athletics (November 10, 2017). Date of treatment March 24, 2019.
- ↑ Racers Can't Make Fast Start Last At Saint Louis . Murray State University Athletics (December 12, 2017). Date of treatment March 24, 2019.
- ↑ Murray State Basketball 2017-18 NCAA Tournament Guide , p. 9. (English)
- ↑ 55-Point Second Half Leads Racers To 4th Straight Win . Murray State University Athletics (February 1, 2018). Date of treatment December 26, 2018.
- ↑ 1 2 Ja Morant Stats . ESPN . Date of treatment March 24, 2019.
- ↑ James Long. Racers' Stark earns player of the year . KFVS-TV (February 27, 2018). Date of treatment December 26, 2018.
- ↑ Pat Hickey. Next task for the Aces? Figuring out how to defend future NBA lottery pick Ja Morant of Murray State . Evansville Courier & Press (December 17, 2018). Date of treatment December 26, 2018.
- ↑ Dave Winder. Morant having impact at Murray State . The Item (November 16, 2018). Date of treatment December 26, 2018.
- ↑ Morant leads Murray State past Missouri State 77-66 . USA Today . Associated Press (November 24, 2018). Date of treatment December 26, 2018.
- ↑ Showman Morant Dazzles But Racers Fall At Alabama . Murray State University Athletics (November 26, 2018). Date of treatment December 26, 2018.
- ↑ Pat Forde. How a hungry coach led to the discovery of viral college sensation Ja Morant . Yahoo! Sports (29 January 2019). Date of treatment January 30, 2019.
- ↑ College basketball: 2019 John Wooden Award midseason top 25 announced . NCAA (10 January 2019). Date of treatment January 30, 2019.
- ↑ Morant & Brown Lead Racers' Blitz At UTM . Murray State University Athletics (10 January 2019). Date of treatment March 10, 2019.
- ↑ 1 2 Ja Morant Scores 40, Murray State Rolls Past SIU-Edwardsville . Sports Illustrated . Associated Press (January 19, 2019). Date of treatment January 20, 2019.
- ↑ Morant Sets OVC Free Throw Record - Racers Win At SIUE . Murray State University Athletics (January 19, 2019). Date of treatment January 20, 2019.
- ↑ Racers Rally For Win At Tech - Morant Sets Assist Record . Murray State University Athletics (February 2, 2019). Date of treatment March 10, 2019.
- ↑ Racers Hit Century Mark - Morant Sets OVC Assist Record & Reaches 1,000 Points . Murray State University Athletics (February 16, 2019). Date of treatment March 10, 2019.
- ↑ Racer Trio Named All-OVC - Morant MVP & Buchanan Defensive POY . Murray State University Athletics (March 5, 2019). Date of treatment March 10, 2019.
- ↑ Mitchell Northam. 3 one-on-one matchups we can't wait to see in the NCAA tournament . NCAA (March 20, 2019). Date of treatment March 24, 2019.
- ↑ 2018-19 Men's All-America Team . United States Basketball Writers Association (March 18, 2019). Date of treatment March 24, 2019.
- ↑ Morant Named Second-Team All-American by Sporting News . Ohio Valley Conference (11 March 2019). Date of treatment March 24, 2019.
- ↑ Morant hits winner, sends Murray St. to OVC final . ESPN . Associated Press (March 9, 2019). Date of treatment March 10, 2019.
- ↑ Eric He. Ja Morant drops 36 points against Belmont as Murray State punches ticket to March Madness . Yahoo! Sports (March 9, 2019). Date of treatment March 10, 2019.
- ↑ Jessica Wimsatt. Murray State's Ja Morant rising to stardom . WEHT (March 9, 2019). Date of treatment March 10, 2019.
- ↑ Morant Thrives, Racers Advance With NCAA Win Over Marquette . Murray State University Athletics (March 21, 2019). Date of treatment March 24, 2019.
- ↑ Racers' NCAA Run Ends With Loss To Florida State . Murray State University Athletics (March 23, 2019). Date of treatment March 24, 2019.
- ↑ Jenna West. Ja Morant Ends Season as First Player in NCAA History to Average 20 Points, 10 Assists . Sports Illustrated (March 23, 2019). Date of treatment March 24, 2019.
- ↑ Lady Barons first in shooting qualifier . The Item (12 December 2018). Date of treatment January 30, 2019.
Links
- Career statistics and athlete information with NBA.com (English) , or Basketball-Reference.com (English)
- Murray State Racers Profile