Morris twins go back-to-back in NBA draft

NEWARK, N.J. - A coach meets two unimpressive post players at a Hunting Park Warriors AAU team workout.

After practice, he tells the lanky 6-foot-4 twins that he'll turn them into pros.

That was nine years ago, and the players were Marcus and Markieff Morris. On Thursday, with their old coach, Dan Brinkley, at their side, the twins became Philadelphia's latest NBA first-round draft picks.

Markieff, a 6-foot-10, 245-pound power forward, will play for the Phoenix Suns after being chosen with the 13th pick of the draft here at the Prudential Center. Marcus, a 6-9, 230-pound combo forward, went one pick later to the Houston Rockets. The twins entered the draft following their junior seasons at Kansas.

"This is crazy, man," Marcus said. "You meet a guy when you are young who says you are going to be in the pros. How can you believe it? You are a kid in Philadelphia. How can you believe it?"

With 40 friends and family members here from Philly, the twins reveled in the experience. Overjoyed, Markieff raised his index fingers in the air once Marcus was selected one spot behind him. Then Markieff, the older by seven minutes, broke down and cried while walking to his news conference.

"Hard work, man," he said as tears rolled down his face. "This was a lot of hard work."

After Markieff's news conference, the 21-year-olds embraced for nearly 30 seconds while crossing paths in the media room.

"It's a great feeling" to go back-to-back, Markieff said. "Once I was called I still had a little pressure on me, you know, waiting for my brother to get called. And as soon as he was called, it just came off.

"We are both grateful and thankful."

They are thankful because Marcus said Houston and Phoenix are the destinations he and his brother wanted. Marcus even texted Houston guard Kyle Lowry, another Philly product, Thursday afternoon to ask him to put in a good word to the Rockets for him.

The Morris twins are also thankful for Brinkley, who later coached them in high school at Prep Charter and is their adviser.

"I believe in general people shouldn't be scared to dream and verbalize their dreams," said Brinkley, who, along with Kansas assistant coach Danny Manning, sat with the Morris family in the green room.

The twins bought into Brinkley's vision six years ago.

Back then, as sophomores at Prep Charter, they began asking Brinkley, a residence adviser at Girard College, to open up Girard's gym for 10:30 p.m. workouts. Those late-night workouts have become a part of the routine they continued while home on break from Kansas.

Manning and strength and conditioning coach Andrea Hudy also factored into their blueprint.

As a former No. 1 overall pick out of Kansas, Manning was someone the twins knew could teach them what it takes to play in the NBA. And before going to Kansas in 1994, Hudy worked closely with Connecticut's national champion men's and women's basketball teams. Under her guidance, the Morris twins each added 30 pounds of muscle.

But the Morris twins will tell you their journey began the day they met Brinkley.

"He was definitely the father figure that I needed in my life at the time," Markieff said. "And he helped me. And he promised me this. And it definitely meant a lot to us."