This is a nice post from Order of the Court last week, about how much things have changed for Adam Morrison & Shannon Brown in the last 4½ years:

"Morrison’s greatest game at Gonzaga came when he dropped 43 points in a 109-106 triple-overtime victory against Michigan State at the Maui Invitational on Nov. 22, 2005. Besides being one of the best college games in recent memory, it is instructive to watch the game and contrast Morrison with Shannon Brown, the ultra-athletic wing player for the Spartans whose professional career has taken a decidedly different trajectory."

In college, Morrison was unstoppable with his size, shooting touch, and ability to knock down a vast array of difficult shots. Brown was a good player (17.2 PPG as a soph) but scarcely better than future NBA washout Maurice Ager.

In the pros, though, Morrison's lack of athleticism (exacerbated by a knee injury that cost him his entire 2nd NBA season) made him inefficient, and ultimately a bust. Brown will never be confused with an NBA All-Star, but his length and explosiveness have given him far more staying power than Morrison, despite being picked 22 spots lower in the '06 Draft.

Who would have predicted that 4½ years ago?

This entry was posted on Tuesday, June 22nd, 2010 at 8:58 am and is filed under Layups. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.