THE JA DROPper
Who would've thought that a Murray State shooting guard would be rising on NBA draft boards all across the nation. Born in 1999, Temetrius Jamel "Ja" Morant has become a walking highlight reel exploding on social media with his monster dunks, creative takes to the basket, and playmaking ability. Arguably the best guard in college hoops, Murray State's Ja Morant is averaging 24 points, 10 assists, and 5.5 rebounds per game. But still, many wonder how he ended up at a mid-major Division I program.
Born in a small town in South Carolina, Ja Morant was unranked coming out of high school. As a matter of fact, he was accidentally discovered by Murray State assistant coach, James Kane, back in July 2016. Kane was attending a camp to see a player who was joining his team, but while looking for a snack, Kane noticed Ja Morant playing a 3v3 game in an auxiliary gym. Impressed by Morant, he contacted Murray State head coach Matt McMahon, who soon offered Morant a scholarship. On September 3, 2016, Morant committed to playing for Murray State during dinner at McMahon's house and the rest is history.
Morant and the Racers compete in the Ohio Valley Conference, an athletic conference with smaller programs in the Midwestern and Southeastern United States. Critics believe that Ja has risen to stardom because the conference is athletically inferior to that of Power Five conference schools. Murray State (17-4) may not play the toughest of competition, but they have put up very strong fights and held their own in their two losses against SEC schools this season. Both losses came within two possessions and on the road against Alabama and then No.7 ranked Auburn.
Standing at 6' 3", the sophomore guard has garnered a lot of attention from NBA scouts this season. Morant ranks inside the top 15 national scoring average (24.1 PPG) and is first in assists (10.3 APG), while also creating some indubitably insane highlights along the way. Some even say that Ja Morant may very well go first in the NBA Draft, ahead of the Duke phenom, Zion Williamson.
If Ja continues to ball out and beat the odds, he could have his team shaping up to become an upset pick come March. ESPN's bracketology has the Racers projected as a No. 13 seed, and we would love nothing more than to watch him fly and throw down in the big dance.
