Derrick Williams impresses everyone — except Markieff Morris

A consensus top two pick in June’s NBA Draft, Derrick
Williams has surely impressed many in basketball circles.

Williams, who averaged 19.5 points and 8.3 rebounds per
game as a sophomore at Arizona, led the Wildcats to the
Elite Eight before deciding to go pro.

While coaches, scouts and fans can say what they think
about the 6-foot-8 forward, you’d think someone Williams
played against would be able to paint an even better
picture of one of the draft’s best prospects.

Or not.

According to The Big Lead, Markieff Morris, formerly
of Kansas, is not impressed.

“I didn’t think he was as good as advertised,” Morris
said. “He got the benefit of the calls from the ref and we
had to guard him different. He definitely had a good game
against us, because we couldn’t guard him how we wanted to
guard him, and that’s what happened.”

So when he hears that Williams is a lock to go in the
top two, Morris said, “It’s still surprises me. What he
did to Duke, he wouldn’t do that to me or my brother
[Marcus]. I’m dead serious. He wouldn’t. At all. He’s
good. But if we was to work out, I would go at him and I
would be able to stop him more than people would expect,
you know what I mean.”

When Morris says Williams got the benefit of the calls
when they faced off in November he must be ignoring the
five fouls the UA star picked up in 29 minutes of play.

Of course, blaming the refs is one way to explain the 27
points and 8 rebounds Williams tallied against the
Jayhawks, especially since seven of those points came on
nine free throw attempts. However, Williams averaged
nearly nine free throws a game over the course of the
entire season, so it is not like what happened that night
was really abnormal.

There is little doubt Morris, who some have going to
Phoenix at No. 13, will get his chance to stop Williams at
the next level. Who knows, maybe he will.

There’s a first time for everything, so at least Morris
has that going for him.

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