Published: May 04, 2008 12:28 am            

IUPUI the best fit for Morris

RICHMOND — If Aaron Morris hadn’t grown up in Madison County, he might have been much more interested in playing basketball at Eastern Kentucky University.

But, ultimately EKU just seemed a little too close for comfort for the 6-foot-7 Madison Central senior forward/guard.

“It’s a really good school,” Morris said. “They’ve got good players and good coaches. If I lived somewhere else EKU would have been a perfect fit. I just kind of wanted to get away from home a little bit.”

Morris was drawing interest from a long list of schools, including Tennessee Tech, Morehead State, Marshall and North Carolina A&T, but in the end he believed that he would fit in best at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI). The standout senior officially signed a national letter of intent to play for the Jaguars on Friday.

“I’ve got family in Indiana and I wouldn’t be far from home,” Morris said. “I’ve also got family in Chicago and St. Louis, so it’s right in the middle. So, it was the best fit. I liked the players and coaches too.”

Morris was a four-year starter at Central and during his senior season broke the program’s all-time scoring record. He finished with 1,980 points, 903 rebounds and received all-state honors in each of the last two seasons.

Morris averaged 22.3 points and 11.1 rebounds a game and helped lead the Indians to another district title this past year. He was recently named Second-Team All-State by the Associated Press and has been selected to play for the Kentucky All-Star Team.

He also played a key role on Central’s 2006 Sweet 16 team.

“We are really excited for him and he deserves it,” Central coach Allen Feldhaus said of Morris.

IUPUI posted a 26-7 record last season, including a perfect home mark, and came up one win short of qualifying for the NCAA Tournament for the second time in the past five years. The Jaguars lost to Oral Roberts in the finals of the Summit League Tournament.

IUPUI lost its top two scorers following this past season — George Hill and Austin Montgomery — and the coaching staff assured the Central standout he would get the opportunity to contribute as a freshman.

“They said there was a good chance I could play right away,” Morris said. “So, that was a big factor in my decision.”

Morris saw action at almost position during his career at Central, but he will likely be used as a small forward or power forward in college.

“He’s so versatile,” Feldhaus said. “He can play the wing, or go inside if he needs to. It just depends on what they need him to do. There’s nothing he can’t do.”

        

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