A day after Tyshawn Taylor and Thomas Robinson announced they would return to Kansas, twins Marcus and Markieff Morris announced they will declare for the NBA Draft and sign with agent Tony Dutt.
“I am proud of Marcus and Markieff for the development and improvement they made, not only off the court, but on the court in their three years here,” Kansas coach Bill Self said.
“They have been an absolute joy to coach and performed at a level to give them the opportunity to leave and enter the NBA draft after three years. We not only wish them the best moving forward but also 100 percent support this decision for them to enter.”
Kansas finished 35-3 record, won the Big 12 regular-season (14-2) and postseason championships and advanced to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
A 2011 consensus second-team All-America who was named the Big 12 Player of the Year, the 6-9 Marcus led Kansas with 17.2 points. He had 12 games with 20-plus points, 10 double-doubles and his 7.6 rebounds per game were second on the team.
“This was one of the most difficult decisions we have ever made,” Marcus said. “Our three years at KU have been great – the fans, Allen Fieldhouse, the games but most importantly the coaches and my teammates. We accomplished a lot together and learned even more with our coaching staff.
The 6-10 Markieff led the Big 12 in field goal percentage (58.9) and rebounds at 8.3 boards per game.
“This decision was tugging at both our hearts,” Markieff said. “Coach Self thinks this is a good time and we feel this is the best for us and for our family. We will always be Jayhawks and be part of this family. I would like the fans for their support over the past years. Some of my best experiences have been at KU and I’m thankful for my teammates, coaches and all the people that support KU.”
“We’ve won a ton of games in the last three years and the twins were a big part of that. When the time is right, the time is right and certainly now the time is right for those guys to go onto the next level,” Self said.
(Release, photo courtesy Kansas Athletics)
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