Education of Morrison Continues

The first time Gonzaga’s Adam Morrison touched the ball in a college basketball game, he dribbled the length of the Madison Square Garden floor to score on Saint Joseph’s in early 2003.

He’s been scoring ever since for No. 9 Gonzaga, and led the nation with an average of 29 points per game after Thursday night’s 67-53 win over Washington State. A preseason All-America, Morrison is being compared to Larry Bird and Pete Maravich.

But the 6-foot-8 Morrison has learned he must be more than a gunner. Call it the education of Adam Morrison, and the schooling of his opponents.

“He has matured,” coach Mark Few said. “He’s recognizing there are other parts that are somewhat as important to his game as scoring.”

Morrison may be scoring more than a third of his team’s points, but as team leader he also must worry about defense, rebounding and distributing the ball to teammates. And Few said Morrison, a diabetic, takes greater care to stay in shape these days to ensure he doesn’t run out of gas as the season progresses.

After dropping 34 points to lift the Zags to a tough win over Portland State in late November, Morrison criticized himself in the locker room for getting only three rebounds.

Not that Portland State noticed.

“Every time he shot it, it seemed like it went in,” Vikings guard Ryan Sommer said. “You can’t do anything about it.”

Gonzaga assistant coach Tommy Lloyd said Morrison also is developing the type of court vision that champions need.

“The game is starting to slow down in Adam’s head,” Lloyd said. “He was full tilt, pedal to the metal, get the ball and score,” Lloyd said.

But as he worked with coaches and watched film, Morrison saw how he could exploit the opposing defenses that were geared to stop him.

Morrison has learned to move better without the ball, setting up easier shots for himself. But he says comparisons with Bird, with whom he shares a high-release jump shot, and Pistol Pete Maravich, who led the nation in scoring for three straight seasons, are overstated.

“Those are two Hall of Famers. I’m just a college guy here,” Morrison said. “It’s a little overdone.”

In a tough loss last weekend at No. 13 Washington, Morrison tied his career high with 43 points, making 18 of 29 shots despite the full attention of Washington’s defense.

“He’s the best offensive basketball player since Carmelo Anthony,” Washington coach Lorenzo Romar said. “Not only that, Adam Morrison is a winner. He’s relentless out there on the court.”

Morrison is averaging more than 39 minutes per game for the injury-plagued Bulldogs, even though he has to closely monitor his blood sugar because of diabetes. During practices and games, he pricks his finger, puts blood on a test strip and sticks it in a glucometer to check the blood sugar.

If it’s too high, he gives himself an insulin shot in the abdomen. He’s been known to give himself up to three shots per game. A round bandage near his navel is a sign that he needed a shot.

He gets letters and e-mails from other diabetics, and answers them, realizing he is a role model for others with a disease that can cause heart attacks, vision problems and coma. Morrison sticks to a strict menu of steak, baked potato and peas two hours before a game.

But there is no guarantee his blood sugar will stay within safe levels.

“The body does not always react the same, no matter what you do,” said his mother, Wanda Morrison, who worries when she sees her son expending so much energy during games.

Morrison was born in Glendive, Mont., where his father, John, was a community college basketball coach. He began accompanying his father on game trips at the age of 1.

Morrison worked as a ball boy for the Zags in grade school, and went to Mead High School in suburban Spokane, finishing as the top scorer in the history of the Greater Spokane League.

In a story entrenched in Gonzaga lore, Morrison first drew Few’s attention by dominating against Gonzaga players in pickup games around Spokane.

Just 6-foot-4 when he committed to Gonzaga in April 2002, he had sprouted several inches by the time he showed up on campus. He played so well over that summer that former point guard Blake Stepp went to coaches to report that Morrison was too good to redshirt.

Morrison played in 31 games as a freshman, averaging 11.4 points coming off the bench. He became a starter as a sophomore, leading the Zags with 19 points per game.

His breakout performance in the recent Maui Invitational, where he scored 43 points in an epic three-overtime win over Michigan State, came before the eyes of dozens of NBA scouts.

He has made no secret of his intention to play professional basketball, but says he will not decide until after this season whether he will return for his senior year.

“It was good the scouts were there,” Morrison said. “I played Gonzaga basketball and let the game come to me, show I can play at that level.”