At 17, Ja Morant was just a boy who had dropped out of high school in the US and ventured, with almost no chance of succeeding, into college basketball in search of a spot in the NBA. Today, at 22, he is already one of the best in one of the world's top basketball leagues, nevertheless the point guard continues to cultivate and nurture his roots at Murray State University.
Qualified once again for March Madness, the most important event of the College Basketball postseason, Murray State has already been one of the references of the Ohio Valley conference since Isaiah Canaan and Cameron Payne were very successful between 2009 and 2015.
However, it was in 2017 that everything changed for the Racers. A young man named Ja Morant had been recruited by the team, still lackluster and far less highly regarded among the top high school prospects at the time.
“Murray State had not recruited Ja Morant. They had recruited Tevin Brown (who remains on the team to this day). He (Tevin) was playing in an AAU tournament and Murray was there. I was there too. One of our coaches saw Ja playing 3X3 and said: 'Who is this guy?'. Then Ja's team played Tevin's. Tevin scored about 30 points and Ja scored 40. From that point on, the scholarship went to Ja Morant.”
This statement was made by Byron Hawkins, in an exclusive interview with Streetopia. At 24 years old, the athlete today in the Sorocabana League, competing in the CBB Brazilian Basketball Championship, was one of the first to see Morant's talent. Hawkins had transferred from Towson University to play for the Racers and spent a year with the point guard now with the Memphis Grizzlies in the NBA.
“When Ja arrived, it was one of the first practices of the summer, I think until his first 5X5 practice, he wanted to play freshmen against veterans (upper classmen). He decided that was what he wanted to do. We won every game, but we had great veterans too.”
“But he made a move…he got an alley-oop and dunked on top of me. He literally got his entire head above the rim. From that moment on, we all agreed in the locker room that this boy would be special. I was 20, he was 17, you don't expect that from such a young player. It was a special moment, I will never forget that”, completes Hawkins.
Morant transformed Murray State's history right off the bat. At the 2019 March Madness, the Racers entered the draw at the 13th seed and faced Markus Howard's Marquette in the first round. Fantastic win by 83 to 64, with 17 points, 11 rebounds and 16 assists from Ja Morant. A definitive sample of what he could do on the big stage.
The loss and consequent elimination to Florida State in the next round did not erase an unforgettable journey by the point guard from Murray. So much so that to this day, Morant returns to the University.
THE ETERNAL LINK WITH THE RACERS
Murray State's 2021-22 season has been calling attention once again. Champion of the Ohio Valley conference and with 30 wins in 32 games this season, the team enters the March Madness as a possible Cinderella team.
But this was only possible, of course, in addition to the talent of the players, with the participation of Ja Morant.
According to information from CBS Sports, Ja Morant has already made 20 trips since he went to the NBA to the University to be together with the players and even participate in practice games with athletes from the current team and also former teammates. He communicates daily with the coaching staff and sends messages of support to the players.
The image of Ja Morant's Twitter header is still from the Murray State days. All this link that remains strong to this date was only possible because of being drafted by the Memphis Grizzlies. The distance in Memphis and Murray is three hours, something that allows Ja to travel to his former University.
“He is a great person, to this day he is humble and that says a lot as to why he is this amazing player. When he arrived (at Murray State), he wasn't so good. He was only 17 years old, but it was an incredible experience. He is always willing to listen to others, I remember at the beginning he would ask a lot of questions about pick and roll, because we were more experienced. He's definitely the best player I've ever played with,” recalls Hawkins.
Murray State may indeed be a surprise during March Madness and Ja Morant will be right there watching and cheering.
It does seem to be an unyielding connection.