Markieff Morris’ Washington Wizards open camp in uncomfortable territory

By Matt Tait     Sep 29, 2016
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When newly acquired power forward Markieff Morris realized where the Washington Wizards were hosting this year’s preseason training camp, bad memories instant began flooding his mind.

See, the Wizards are conducting this year’s camp at the home arena of Virginia Commonwealth University, the same VCU that knocked Morris and the Jayhawks out of the 2011 NCAA Tournament one game shy of the Final Four.

In an interview with WRIC’s Mitch Carr, Morris expressed his frustration of having to practice under VCU’s Final Four banner.

Now with his third team in his sixth NBA season, the 2011 NBA Draft lottery pick is projected to be the Wizards’ starting power forward this season and is looking forward to playing alongside backcourt standouts John Wall and Bradley Beal.

During his first five seasons in the league — with Phoenix and Toronto — Morris, 27, has averaged 11.5 points and 5.4 rebounds in 372 career games.

Morris will be joined on this year’s Wizards’ roster by fellow former Jayhawk Kelly Oubre, who was the No. 15 overall pick in the 2015 NBA Draft after one year at Kansas.

Here’s a look at the recent interview with Morris inside VCU’s home gym:

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Written By Matt Tait

A native of Colorado, Matt moved to Lawrence in 1988 and has been in town ever since. He graduated from Lawrence High in 1996 and the University of Kansas in 2000 with a degree in Journalism. After covering KU sports for the University Daily Kansan and Rivals.com, Matt joined the World Company (and later Ogden Publications) in 2001 and has held several positions with the paper and KUsports.com in the past 20+ years. He became the Journal-World Sports Editor in 2018. Throughout his career, Matt has won several local and national awards from both the Associated Press Sports Editors and the Kansas Press Association. In 2021, he was named the Kansas Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sports Media Association. Matt lives in Lawrence with his wife, Allison, and two daughters, Kate and Molly. When he's not covering KU sports, he likes to spend his time playing basketball and golf, listening to and writing music and traveling the world with friends and family.