Morrises’ misses costly

By Jesse Newell     Feb 8, 2009

Nick Krug
Kansas forwards Markieff Morris, center, and Marcus Morris battle for a rebound with Oklahoma State defenders Obi Muonelo, left, Terrel Harris and Marshall Moses during the second half Saturday, Feb. 7, 2009 at Allen Fieldhouse.

Marcus Morris knows he has some running to do once he enters the gym today.

For every airball, Kansas University players have to run an up-and-back before practice.

“I’m pretty consistent with that, too. I shoot a couple a game,” Marcus deadpanned after KU’s 78-67 victory over Oklahoma State on Saturday at Allen Fieldhouse. “But then, my brother’s kind of consistent with it, too, because he shoots it from the same spot. And it seems like that always happens.”

Specifically, both brothers seem to have a mental block on a baseline shot from about 12 feet.

Against OSU, Marcus airballed the shot at the 6:44 mark of the first half.

“Actually, I could have said it was a pass to Cole (Aldrich). He laid it in,” Marcus said of his errant shot. “That isn’t frustrating. I just think, ‘Next shot.’ If I miss, I won’t stop shooting if I’m open. It’s not a bad shot. I just missed it.”

Marcus’ twin brother, Markieff, airballed an identical shot less than three minutes later.

“He does it. I do it. I don’t know what it is,” Markieff said. “For some reason, if he shoots an airball, I come to the same spot and shoot an airball.

“I don’t know what it is. It’s probably the spot on the floor. Coach says it’s not my shot. I probably won’t shoot there anymore.”

Marcus said he wasn’t sure why that one location on the court haunted him. Though he’s one of the most accurate field-goal shooters on the team (49.2 percent), he has shot multiple airballs from the same location.

“I think it’s that baseline. Or maybe I need to take a few steps back or something,” Marcus said. “It’s something.”

One location Marcus hasn’t been struggling from lately is the free-throw line.

Before the Nebraska game, Marcus was just 26-for-53 from the line (49.1 percent). In his last four games, he has made 15 of his 17 free-throw attempts (88.2 percent).

Marcus said he talked with KU assistant coach Danny Manning about his poor free-throw shooting earlier in the year.

“I would score maybe five points, but the free throws I’d miss, I’d probably miss four free throws,” Marcus said. “That would be nine points I could have had.”

Every KU player has to shoot 50 free throws at the end of practice, but Marcus and his brother often are told they have to shoot 100.

Sometimes, they can’t leave until they make 80.

With his recent surge, Marcus has bumped his free-throw percentage to 58.6 percent.

Now if he could only find a cure for the baseline airballs.

“Coach told me whenever I’m open, I can shoot it,” Marcus said. “So, whenever I shoot an airball the first time, I’m going to shoot it the second time. If I shoot an airball the second time — maybe I’m thinking about it the second time if I shoot two airballs.

“I’m just going to keep shooting if I’m open.”

He’ll also have to keep putting up with the punishment if he continues to miss everything occasionally.

“They might make us run a 22 (up and back twice in under 22 seconds) because both of us did it,” Marcus said. “Even if one of us would have did it, they still would have made us both do it because they group us together all the time.”

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