After Gonzaga’s brutal 73-71 loss to UCLA yesterday, college basketball is wondering if one of their favorite sons is going to turn pro. It appears that Morrison hasn’t made up his mind quite yet.
“It’s going to be a family decision,” Morrison said in Gonzaga’s somber locker room. “I’ve got to hear from the people who write the checks. … I have no idea [when]. I’ve got to go back to Spokane and not do anything. I have no idea what I’m going to decide.”
All season, the general consensus has been that Morrison will turn pro. NBADraft.net has him projected to go third in the draft (behind UConn’s Rudy Gay and Texas’ LaMarcus Aldridge) to the Portland Trailblazers. If he were to come back for his senior year, he’d be risking a ton of money.
But the way that Gonzaga lost last night might mean more than the fact they lost. The Bulldogs were so close to advancing to the Elite Eight that Morrison might see it as a personal challenge to try to get his team back there next season. Throw in the fact that he missed three consecutive jumpers in the last three minutes and he’s going to have a hell of a time getting over this loss.
I like to see players of Morrison’s caliber come back for their senior seasons, but it has to be difficult to turn down lottery money. Any number of injuries could happen in his senior year that would jeopardize his future, and with the loss of J.P. Batista to graduation, there’s no guarantee that Gonzaga will be able to contend next season.
That said, Morrison is a pensive character and it wouldn’t surprise me at all if he decided to stay another year.
