# Randolph Morris > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Randolph_Morris > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Randolph_Morris.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randolph_Morris > Source revision: 1329429723 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) {{Short description|American basketball player (born 1986)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2019}} {{Infobox basketball biography | name = Randolph Morris | image = | caption = | height_ft = 6 | height_in = 11 | weight_lb = 275 | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1986|1|2}} | birth_place = [Houston, Texas](/source/Houston%2C_Texas), U.S. | high_school = [Landmark Christian](/source/Landmark_Christian_School)
([Fairburn, Georgia](/source/Fairburn%2C_Georgia)) | college = [Kentucky](/source/Kentucky_Wildcats_men's_basketball) (2004–2007) | draft_year = 2005 | career_start = 2007 | career_end = 2019 | career_number = 5, 33 | career_position = [Center](/source/Center_(basketball)) / [power forward](/source/power_forward) | years1 = {{nbay|2006|end}}–{{nbay|2007|end}} | team1 = [New York Knicks](/source/New_York_Knicks) | years2 = {{nbay|2008|start}}–{{nbay|2009|end}} | team2 = [Atlanta Hawks](/source/Atlanta_Hawks) | years3 = [2010](/source/2010%E2%80%9311_CBA_season)–[2018](/source/2017%E2%80%9318_CBA_season) | team3 = [Beijing Ducks](/source/Beijing_Ducks) | years4 = 2019 | team4 = [Sporting Al Riyadi Beirut](/source/Sporting_Al_Riyadi_Beirut) | highlights = * 3× [CBA](/source/Chinese_Basketball_Association) champion (2012, 2014, 2015) * Lebanese Basketball League Champion (2019) * [CBA Finals MVP](/source/CBA_Finals_MVP) (2014) * 2× CBA All-Star (2011, 2014) * First-team [All-SEC](/source/List_of_All-SEC_men's_basketball_teams) (2007) * [McDonald's All-American](/source/McDonald's_All-American_Game) ([2004](/source/2004_McDonald's_All-American_Boys_Game)) * Third-team [''Parade'' All-American](/source/Parade_All-America_Boys_Basketball_Team) (2004) }} '''Randolph Albert Morris''' (born January 2, 1986) is an American former professional [basketball](/source/basketball) player. ==Early life== As a senior for [Atlanta](/source/Atlanta)'s Landmark Christian High School, Morris nearly averaged a triple-double[https://assets.espn.go.com/dickvitale/vcolumn050613-RandolphMorris.html Kentucky's Morris should pull out of draft] at 23.0 ppg, 16.0 rpg and 8.0 bpg, which earned him [McDonald's All-American Team](/source/McDonald's_All-American_Game) status. Randolph Morris was the #2 rated center and #10 overall prospect by [Rivals.com](/source/Rivals.com) in a year when a record eight high schoolers went directly to the NBA draft. Morris strongly considered a jump straight to the NBA as well, but decided to spend at least a year in school. [Kentucky](/source/Kentucky_Wildcats_men's_basketball) won a late recruiting battle, after drawing Morris away from early favorite [Georgia Tech](/source/Georgia_Tech).Davis, Seth (May 31, 2004), [http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1032165/index.htm College Basketball: Who's No. 1?] {{Webarchive|url=https://archive.today/20120723160307/http://vault.sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1032165/index.htm |date=July 23, 2012 }}, ''[Sports Illustrated](/source/Sports_Illustrated)'' Morris, along with All-Americans [Joe Crawford](/source/Joe_Crawford_(basketball%2C_born_1986)) and [Rajon Rondo](/source/Rajon_Rondo), gave Kentucky the top-rated recruiting class in the nation.{{cite web |url=http://rivalshoops.rivals.com/content.asp?SID=910&CID=297763 |title=Rivals.com Top 25 for 2004 |publisher=Rivals.com |access-date=March 12, 2007 |archive-date=April 13, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160413054356/https://rivalshoops.rivals.com/content.asp?SID=910&CID=297763 |url-status=dead }} Also, in that same recruiting class was [Kentucky](/source/Kentucky_Wildcats) teammate [Ramel Bradley](/source/Ramel_Bradley). ==College career== After a solid debut in his first year at [Kentucky](/source/Kentucky_Wildcats), Morris decided to declare for the 2005 [NBA draft](/source/NBA_draft) but did not hire an agent. He averaged 8.8 points per game and 4.2 rebounds. Despite playing well for Kentucky and starting every game but one, he did not prove himself NBA ready and often got in foul trouble. Morris went undrafted and decided to attempt a return to Kentucky. The [NCAA](/source/NCAA) agreed to reinstate him, but not before sitting out the first half of the 2005–2006 season. Morris returned to Kentucky in January 2006, but could not help the team get out of its season-long slump. Nevertheless, he improved in almost every statistical category from his freshman year and was very impressive at times. As a sophomore, he averaged 13.3 points and 6 rebounds per game. In his junior season, Morris made further progress, averaging 16.1 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game, earning first team All-SEC honors. ==Professional career== After his freshman year at Kentucky, Morris declared himself eligible for the [2005 NBA draft](/source/2005_NBA_draft). He went undrafted, but since he did not hire an agent, Morris was allowed to return to the [Wildcats](/source/Kentucky_Wildcats_men's_basketball) to continue playing college basketball. At the same time, because the [NBA](/source/NBA)'s collective bargaining agreement prohibited him from re-entering into a future draft, Morris was also legally a free agent who could be signed at any time. That meant he would be able to leave Kentucky in the middle of the college basketball season if signed by an NBA team.{{cite web |url=https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news;_ylt=ArIdXHcsDMBVPp7nISY7oBO8vLYF?slug=aw-morris121106&prov=yhoo&type=lgns |title=The Problematic Prospect |last=Wojnarowski |first=Adrian |publisher=Yahoo! Sports |date=December 11, 2006 |access-date=April 4, 2007}} Morris took advantage of his free agent status, and signed a two-year, $1.6 million contract with the [New York Knicks](/source/New_York_Knicks) on March 23, 2007, five days after Kentucky was eliminated from the [NCAA tournament](/source/2007_NCAA_Division_I_men's_basketball_tournament).{{cite web |url=https://www.espn.com/nba/news/story?id=2809958|title=Knicks sign Kentucky center Morris to 2-year deal |work=ESPN.com |date=March 23, 2007 |access-date=March 23, 2007}} Morris became the first player in history to go from the [NCAA](/source/NCAA) to the [NBA](/source/NBA) in the same week, when he signed with the Knicks. When UK's then head coach [Tubby Smith](/source/Tubby_Smith) resigned and took the same job with the [Minnesota Golden Gophers](/source/Minnesota_Golden_Gophers_men's_basketball), Kentucky's athletic director Mitch Barnhart asked Morris to defer making a decision about turning pro until after the administration found a new head coach to replace Smith, but he chose to sign with New York instead of waiting. After spending parts of two seasons playing with the Knicks, Morris joined the [NBA Summer League](/source/NBA_Summer_League) team of the [Atlanta Hawks](/source/Atlanta_Hawks) in 2008, and subsequently signed a two-year, $1.7 million contract with the Hawks on July 29.{{Cite web |url=http://www.ajc.com/hawks/content/sports/hawks/stories/2008/07/29/hawks_randolph_morris.html |title=Hawks land big man |access-date=July 29, 2008 |archive-date=July 28, 2012 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120728130353/http://www.ajc.com/hawks/content/sports/hawks/stories/2008/07/29/hawks_randolph_morris.html |url-status=dead }} He would then spend the next two seasons as a member of Atlanta's roster. Morris moved to the [Beijing Ducks](/source/Beijing_Ducks) of the [Chinese Basketball Association](/source/Chinese_Basketball_Association) ahead of the [2010-11 season](/source/2010-11_CBA_season).{{cite web|url=http://www.allkyhoops.com/2010/12/former-wildcat-randolph-morris-shines.html|title=Former Wildcat Randolph Morris shines in Beijing debut|publisher=AllKYhoops.com|access-date=January 21, 2012|archive-date=March 23, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130323180458/http://www.allkyhoops.com/2010/12/former-wildcat-randolph-morris-shines.html|url-status=dead}} In his second season in [China](/source/China), he and teammate [Stephon Marbury](/source/Stephon_Marbury) led Beijing to its first-ever [CBA title](/source/2012_CBA_Playoffs). In [2014](/source/2014_CBA_Playoffs), the Ducks won their second championship, and Morris was named the [CBA Finals MVP](/source/CBA_Finals_MVP). Beijing repeated as champions in [2015](/source/2015_CBA_Playoffs), giving the Ducks a run of three titles in four years. == NBA career statistics == {{NBA player statistics legend}} === Regular season === {{NBA player statistics start}} |- | align="left" | {{nbay|2006}} | align="left" | [New York](/source/2006%E2%80%9307_New_York_Knicks_season) | 5 || 0 || 8.8 || .167 || .000 || .333 || 1.8 || '''.2''' || '''.4''' || '''.2''' || .8 |- | align="left" | {{nbay|2007}} | align="left" | [New York](/source/2007%E2%80%9308_New_York_Knicks_season) | 18 || '''2''' || '''10.1''' || .362 || .000 || .483 || '''2.1''' || .1 || .2 || .1 || '''3.1''' |- | align="left" | {{nbay|2008}} | align="left" | [Atlanta](/source/2008%E2%80%9309_Atlanta_Hawks_season) | 23 || 0 || 3.9 || .412 || .000 || '''1.000''' || .9 || .1 || .1 || .0 || .8 |- | align="left" | {{nbay|2009}} | align="left" | [Atlanta](/source/2009%E2%80%9310_Atlanta_Hawks_season) | '''28''' || 0 || 4.4 || '''.561''' || .000 || .593 || 1.4 || .1 || .2 || .1 || 2.2 |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" | | 74 || 2 || 5.9 || .426 || .000 || .545 || 1.4 || .1 || .2 || .1 || 1.9 {{s-end}} === Playoffs === {{NBA player statistics start}} |- | align="left" | [2009](/source/2009_NBA_Playoffs) | align="left" | [Atlanta](/source/2008%E2%80%9309_Atlanta_Hawks_season) | '''3''' || 0 || 2.7 || .000 || .000 || .000 || '''.7''' || .0 || '''.3''' || .0 || .0 |- | align="left" | [2010](/source/2010_NBA_Playoffs) | align="left" | [Atlanta](/source/2009%E2%80%9310_Atlanta_Hawks_season) | '''3''' || 0 || '''3.3''' || '''.500''' || .000 || '''1.000''' || '''.7''' || .0 || .0 || .0 || '''1.0''' |- | align="left" | Career | align="left" | | 6 || 0 || 3.0 || .333 || .000 || 1.000 || .7 || .0 || .2 || .0 || .5 {{s-end}} ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== * {{basketballstats|nba_historical=randolph_morris}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20070717080631/http://www.ukathletics.com/index.php?s=&url_channel_id=37&url_article_id=13141&change_well_id=2 Kentucky Wildcats bio] {{CBA Finals MVP}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Morris, Randolph}} Category:1986 births Category:Living people Category:21st-century American sportsmen Category:Al Riyadi Club Beirut basketball players Category:American expatriate basketball people in China Category:American expatriate basketball people in Lebanon Category:American men's basketball players Category:Atlanta Hawks players Category:Basketball players from Atlanta Category:Basketball players from Houston Category:Beijing Ducks players Category:Centers (basketball) Category:Power forwards Category:Kentucky Wildcats men's basketball players Category:McDonald's High School All-Americans Category:New York Knicks players Category:Parade High School All-Americans (boys' basketball) Category:Undrafted NBA players --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Randolph Morris](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randolph_Morris) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Randolph_Morris?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.