Possible Center for this years class?

by SFVBruin on May 5, 2008 12:31 PM PDT Comment 16 comments

For those that havent seen it yet, Rivals is reporting that J'Mison Morgan has asked for his release from his LOI.

The article is on a pay site but it does go on to say his new number 1 choice is a certain school that has 100 NCAA Championships.

This is still in the early stages, but so far it seems like we have a good shot.

He has already been cleared to play at UCLA and the open scholarship left open by Stanback would make this a reality.

If you hear anything new, please let us know on this thread.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

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Morgan

has been staying at LSU, then leaving, then stay, then leaving. Who knows at this point. Plus, LSU still has to release him even if he does ask for a release. Personally, I'm going to take a wait and see approach.

by Ryan Rosenblatt on May 5, 2008 12:54 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Is your article newer..

..than the this earlier one that has him asking out of his LOI and then opting to stay?

God, it's great to be a Bruin!

by whp68 on May 5, 2008 12:56 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

The article he's referring to

was posted this morning.

by Ryan Rosenblatt on May 5, 2008 1:02 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

anyone know

what school is "likely to be at the top of his list?"

(never-mind if this infringes on any copyright laws et cetera...)

by bruin007 on May 5, 2008 1:39 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Info

This blurb is on Tigerbait.com (LSU's rival.com fan site):

J'Mison Morgan, a class of 2008 five-star prospect from South Oak Cliff (Texas) High School, will ask for his release from LSU, according to his AAU coach Jazzy Hartwell. One school will likely be at the top of the list if Morgan does make a change.

That's non-premimum blurb, so anyone can post it.

As for guesses on which school may be at the top of the list, this post from bruinzone.com has a hint:

J'Misson Morgan has reniged on his LSU commitment (LOI) and is coming to UCLA. Guess that makes me 2 for 3 afterall.

The guy who put up that post - Bruinau - broke this story before anyone. So he has built up a little credibility on this story.

by bluestreet on May 5, 2008 1:45 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Bruinau also said last year that

Jrue Holiday was going to commit to UCLA. This was several weeks (maybe months) before the actual announcement.

by SuperBruinMan on May 6, 2008 5:23 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wow

That's quite a track record...

by cabz on May 6, 2008 5:35 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Here's a release...

...that was just posted a few minutes ago at TransWorldNews:

J'mison Morgan, one of the top 40 high school basketball recruits in the nation, has decommitted from LSU Monday, opening up his recruitment to other options.

Morgan, a 6-foot-10, 275-pound center from South Oak Cliff H.S. in Dallas, has officially asked for a release from his letter-of-intent that he signed to the LSU Tigers....

UCLA will be strongly considered once Morgan is released from his National Letter of Intent due to the departure of freshman sensation Kevin Love. UCLA has a top-five recruiting class without Morgan, but with him, the Bruins may be able to return to the Final Four.

If this holds up, great. And, if Morgan's goal is to compete for a national championship as some have said, DC may have done us yet another favor by sticking around to make that more possible. We'll see how this plays out, but if Howland wants him, I want him.

by Menelaus on May 5, 2008 4:41 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

DC

I think your comment regarding DC is on the money. Without DC we were not a FF-caliber team. With DC, it's certainly much more likely - especially with addition of another quality big man.

Anyone seen much of this kid? Would he be able to come in and compete in Howland's system from the get-go (ie: does he play defense)?

by cabz on May 5, 2008 6:22 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

anyone know his scholastic stats?

getting into LSU and getting into UCLA are not exactly the same, but I'm hoping given these rumors that he must have the numbers to be able to play here. this would absolutely huge, even if he's only a bit player, and with potential for more.

by jjreicher on May 5, 2008 5:31 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

He has the grades

He would easily be able to get admitted

by SFVBruin on May 5, 2008 5:53 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

This is just too good to be true.

I'm not saying I don't believe it, but mama has always told me if it's too good to be true, it probably is not true.

by bluegold on May 5, 2008 10:30 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I dunno..

..the mere fact that a kid of this caliber wants to back out of a committment to another school and mentions UCLA so prominently as the reason for doing so is instructive.

I the home page article on this subject, Bobo is quoted as saying, "My comfort level was at LSU, but I felt like UCLA was a better fit for me as far as exposure."

Tangentially, while we all bemoan the effect of the one-and-done era we now live in, it is refreshing to note that effectively UCLA competes in this arena. Maybe this recruit-decommitting-freemarket chaos will cause coaches and schools to insist on some stability and have a sit-down with David Stern and the NBA Player's Ass'n.

God, it's great to be a Bruin!

by whp68 on May 6, 2008 4:54 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Remember the "Territorial Draft Choice"?

Each NBA team had an area in which they got the pick no matter what the draft order. I think this was established so that Oscar Robertson would be sure to stay in Cincy, and then it was outlawed when Kareem decided to go to college out west and not stay in NY so the Knicks could get him.

by Fox 71 on May 6, 2008 7:08 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Morgan is great

but he is not Kevin Love. He is more raw, but is not a one and done most likely either.

He's a great get, but I don't know if he is a dominant center in the NCAA his first year.

"when you've seen how big the world is, how can you make due with this?"

by silverlakebruin on May 6, 2008 9:09 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

No one's Kevin Love..

..except Kevin Love, of course.

Not to be flippant, but he was a once-in-an-era guy. That said, it's almost better (I said almost) to have someone who is a little rough and needs work -- he'll probably stay longer and get some good coaching from BH.

And, in BH's system, the longer he has guys together the better the chance of beating the rent-a-body teams like Memphis, etc. I mean, if you look at LSU, ironically, with their heralded "Big Baby" and how we handled them in 2006.
I am sure it's not an air-tight theory, but it works for me.

God, it's great to be a Bruin!

by whp68 on May 6, 2008 5:58 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs