Shaquille Morris (born February 23, 1994) is an American professional basketball and football player who is a free agent. and played college basketball for the Wichita State University. He played basketball professionally for the San-en NeoPhoenix, Kyoto Hannaryz, and Tokyo Hachioji Bee Trains.

Shaquille Morris
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Morris with Wichita State, 2015
Personal information
Born: (1994-02-23) February 23, 1994 (age 30)
Houston, Texas
Height:6 ft 8 in (2.03 m)
Weight:279 lb (127 kg)
Career information
High school:Edmond Memorial
(Edmond, Oklahoma)
College:Wichita State (2014–2018)
Position:Offensive tackle
Career history
 * Offseason and/or practice squad member only
Shaquille Morris
Personal information
NationalityAmerican
Career information
NBA draft2018: undrafted
Playing career2018–present
PositionPower forward / center
Career history
2018San-en NeoPhoenix
2018–2019Kyoto Hannaryz
2019–2020Tokyo Hachioji Bee Trains
Career highlights and awards
  • First-team All-AAC (2018)
  • Third-team All-MVC (2017)

College career

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Morris dominated over high school competition due to his large build. He was recruited to Wichita State by assistant coach Chris Jans. Morris redshirted his freshman season but missed many practices for minor ailments. Coach Gregg Marshall said to him in December 2013 that he needed to get a medical thesaurus for all the made-up conditions he had. When he did start logging minutes for the Shockers, he was frequently in trouble with Marshall and nearly got kicked off the team. As his college career went on, the two developed a more productive relationship.[1]

Morris was named to the Third Team All-Missouri Valley Conference as a junior.[2] He averaged 9.8 points and 5.1 rebounds per game that season. Morris declared for the 2016 NBA draft but eventually returned to school.[3] On February 1 in an overtime loss to Temple, Morris broke the 1,000 points barrier and posted 24 points and nine rebounds.[4] He scored 23 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in a 93–86 win over Temple on February 14 in what Marshall considered to be his best game.[5] The following game, he had 13 points in a win against top-five Cincinnati and was named AAC player of the week.[6] As a senior, Morris averaged 14.2 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game. He posted 15.7 points per game in conference play. He was named to the First Team All-American Athletic Conference.[7]

In October 2020, Morris claimed that coach Marshall shoved and punched him in the head during a practice in 2015, sparking an investigation against his former coach.[8]

Professional basketball career

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After going undrafted in the 2018 NBA draft, on July 29, 2018, Morris joined the Israeli team Bnei Herzliya, signing a one-year deal with an option for another one.[9] However, on August 16, 2018, he parted ways with Herzliya before appearing in any games for them.[10] His contract was bought out by the San-en NeoPhoenix of the top-tier Japanese B.League.[11] On December 15, 2019, Morris signed with the Tokyo Hachioji Bee Trains.[12]

Professional football career

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Morris was assigned to the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL on January 6, 2023.[13] He was released on June 21, 2023.[14]

References

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  1. ^ Eldridge, Taylor (March 15, 2018). "Shaq Morris was nearly kicked off Wichita State. Now he leads it into the tournament". Wichita Eagle. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  2. ^ Blair, Cole (February 28, 2017). "2017 MVC Men's Basketball All-Conference Teams". KXEL. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  3. ^ Suellentrop, Paul (May 22, 2017). "Report: Shaq Morris will return to Wichita State for senior season". Wichita Eagle. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  4. ^ Eldridge, Taylor (February 2, 2018). "This is why Shaq Morris is scoring more than ever at Wichita State". Wichita Eagle. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  5. ^ "Marshall on Shaq: "Maybe his best game as a Shocker"". KWCH. February 15, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  6. ^ Polakoff, Elliott (February 19, 2018). "Shaq Morris named AAC Player of the Week". KSN. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  7. ^ Eldridge, Taylor (March 5, 2018). "Wichita State's Shaquille Morris, Landry Shamet named first team all-AAC". Wichita Eagle. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  8. ^ Botte, Peter (October 21, 2020). "New Gregg Marshall abuse allegations emerge: 'Send him back to Africa'". New York Post. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  9. ^ "Bnei Herzliya signs Shaquille Morris". Sportando.basketball. July 29, 2018. Retrieved July 29, 2018.
  10. ^ "Bnei Herzliya signs Hilton Armstrong to replace Shaquille Morris". Sportando.basketball. August 16, 2018. Retrieved August 16, 2018.
  11. ^ Eldridge, Taylor (August 14, 2018). "Here's where Conner Frankamp and the rest of WSU's 2018 seniors are headed as pros". The Wichita Eagle. Retrieved August 24, 2018.
  12. ^ "Shaquille Morris firma con gli Hachioji Bee Trains". Sportando (in Italian). December 15, 2019. Retrieved December 25, 2019.
  13. ^ @XFL_PR (January 6, 2023). "Houston Roughnecks" (Tweet). Retrieved January 7, 2023 – via Twitter.
  14. ^ "XFL Transactions". XFL.com. Retrieved June 21, 2023.
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