Markieff Morris’ three key: Deep bomb helps KU ‘wrap-up’

By Jesse Newell     Mar 19, 2011

Kansas University forward Markieff Morris didn’t hesitate to hoist up an NBA-range three-pointer during the second half of KU’s 72-53 victory over Boston.

The long three, which pushed the lead to 58-43 with 7:35 left, forced a Boston timeout and also prompted some celebration from Markieff.

“It cracked them,” KU forward Marcus Morris said. “Once he made that, it was over. I knew it was over. He did his little finger wave to the crowd.”

The finger wave, Marcus explained, is the twirling motion Markieff made with his index finger after the shot, similar to an official resetting the shot clock.

Markieff calls it, “Wrap-up.”

“I know it’s over then,” Marcus said. “It means it’s over.”

KU coach Bill Self had a little fun with Markieff at the postgame news conference when the KU junior was asked about his three from the top of the key.

“It wasn’t at the top of the key, either,” Self said. “It was a little deeper than that.”

Markieff continued: “That’s my shot, and coach let me shoot it. Yeah, it was open, and it was the right time to shoot it.”

With the three-pointer, Markieff is now 23-for-55 (41.8 percent) from three-point range this year.

“I don’t force. I’m not a guy to force shots at all,” Markieff said. “If I’m guarded, I know I’m guarded, and I’ll swing the ball. It’s not a big deal.”

Markieff, who scored 12 of his 15 points in the second half, said Self has become accustomed to the threes he takes.

“I just guess he lives with them,” Markieff said. “I make ’em, so when I miss them, it’s like, “Kieff, you’ve got to give up the ball,’ but when I make it, it’s just like, ‘Good shot.’ I guess that’s how it’s supposed to be, right?”

Marcus said early in the year, Self had told the twins that he was going to live and die with them this year.

That means both forwards have longer leashes from their coach.

“We’re too old to look over our shoulders. There’s not any more looking over our shoulders,” Marcus said. “He’s going to live with us. When we were freshmen and sophomores, we used to look over our shoulders a lot.”

Marcus said he plays better with the additional freedom.

“We’re his guys,” Marcus said. “He knows that, and we all know that.”

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