Marcus Morris loses starting job
Marcus Morris, the leading scorer for No. 3 Kansas, has lost his position in the starting lineup after getting kicked out of the Jayhawks' last game for throwing an elbow.
Marcus Morris, the leading scorer for No. 3 Kansas, has lost his position in the starting lineup after getting kicked out of the Jayhawks' last game for throwing an elbow.
Coach Bill Self said the 6-8 junior won't start tonight when Kansas hosts Texas-Arlington.
Morris, twin brother of fellow Jayhawk Markieff Morris, both of Prep Charter, is averaging 15.5 points and 6.1 rebounds. He was ejected from the game at California on Dec. 22 when he threw an elbow at Harper Kamp.
"Marcus has to be smarter than that," coach Bill Self said yesterday. "That was a very, very immature play that he made. He's cost himself a starting position. He'll play. But he certainly has to be more mature than that because he's too valuable."
Self said he did not know how long Morris would have to come off the bench. Thomas Robinson, a 6-9 sophomore, will start in his place.
Morris appeared subdued and apologetic at practice.
"I retaliated the wrong way," Morris said. "I should have went to the refs and told them something was going on. But I retaliated the wrong way and got myself kicked out of the game. You can't do those things in any sport. I apologized to him and to my team."
Even without their top scorer over the course of the season, the Jayhawks won, 78-63. Morris said getting ejected did not seem "real at first."
"I was like, 'Dang, did I just do that?' I just went into the back and stared at the clock for the entire game and waited for guys to come back to the locker room."
Self also said freshman sensation Josh Selby, who has come off the bench his first two college games, would start tonight. Starting guard Tyshawn Taylor has been delayed getting back to Lawrence from Christmas break.
Noteworthy
* Kansas State forward Curtis Kelly will miss four more games after committing a secondary NCAA violation while buying clothes at a Manhattan, Kan., department store. Kelly and senior guard Jacob Pullen were declared ineligible last week for accepting impermissible benefits. Pullen has sat out two games of a three-game suspension.
In games last night:
* At Kentucky, Terrence Jones scored 18 points, Brandon Knight added 17 points and eight assists and the 11th-ranked Wildcats (10-2) rolled by Coppin State, 91-61.
* At Wisconsin, Jordan Taylor scored 22 points to lead the Badgers (11-2) to a 68-60 upset of No. 14 Minnesota in the Big Ten opener for both teams. Ralph Sampson III had 14 points for the Gophers (11-2).
* At Syracuse, Kris Joseph scored 27 points as the No. 5 Orange (14-0, 1-0 Big East) defeated Providence, 81-74.
* At Cincinnati, Larry Davis scored a season-high 20 points, and the Bearcats (13-0, 1-0 Big East) beat DePaul, 76-60.
* At Michigan, JaJuan Johnson scored 22 points and No. 12 Purdue (12-1, 1-0) opened Big Ten play with an 80-57 victory win the Wolverines (10-3, 0-1), who were led by Stu Douglass' 15 points.
* At Seton Hall, Herb Pope had 12 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Pirates (7-6) past South Florida, 64-55, in the Big East opener for both teams.
* At Loyola (Md.), G.W. Boon and Joe Willman scored 16 points apiece as Bucknell (7-7) won, 70-59. The Bison have won five of their last six games.
In women's games:
* At Stanford, Nnemkadi Ogwumike had 23 points and 11 rebounds and the No. 9 Cardinal (8-2) upset fourth-ranked Xavier, 89-52. Amber Harris had 18 points and nine rebounds for the Musketeers (10-2).
* At North Carolina, Waltiea Rolle scored 15 points, leading the 10th-ranked Tar Heels (12-0) over College of Charleston, 75-49.
* At Florida State, Cierra Bravard's two free throws with 30 seconds left lifted the No. 25 Seminoles (10-3) to a 74-72 victory over Florida.
* At Syracuse, Iasia Hemingway had 22 points and 10 rebounds, Kayla Alexander added 20 points and 11 rebounds, and the No. 24 Orange (10-1) beat St. Francis (Pa.), 94-60. *