Murray State superstar Ja Morant gets emotional when asked about his rise to prominence
Friday night gave us two beautiful March moments from Murray State’s superstar sophomore.
Friday night was a big one for Murray State superstar Ja Morant.
Playing in front of a packed house at the Ford Center in Evansville that included Magic Johnson, Larry Fitzgerald, Bulls GM Gar Forman, Lakers GM Rob Pelinka and a reported 40 NBA scouts, Morant put on a show in the OVC tournament semifinals. The projected top five NBA Draft pick dazzled the crowd with an array of dramatic finishes at the rim, highlight reel passes, and ultimately, a game-winner in the closing seconds.
If we can’t get Chris Clemons in the NCAA Tournament, I’ll take Ja Morant. pic.twitter.com/rZpYsetTZk
— Brant Wilkerson-New (@BrantGNR) March 9, 2019
When the dust settled, Morant had finished with 29 points, eight assists, six rebounds and a win over Jacksonville State that put his Murray State into the Ohio Valley Conference tournament championship game. The Racers will face top-seeded Belmont Saturday night with the first automatic bid to the 2019 NCAA tournament on the line.
During the postgame press conference, Morant was asked how it feels to rise from relative obscurity to being one of the most well-known and supported amateur basketball players in the world. Thinking about a response made him so emotional that Murray State head coach Matt McMahon had to tag in and complete the answer.
McMahon talks about Morant’s support system as the sophomore guard gets emotional. pic.twitter.com/IjROCHf5dr
— MSU Sports News (@MSUSportsNews) March 9, 2019
Coming out of Crestwood High School in Sumter, SC, Morant was a lightly-recruited two-star prospect who did not receive a national ranking from Rivals, 247 Sports, ESPN or any other scouting service in existence. Even during a productive freshman season in 2017-18 where he averaged 12.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 6.3 assists per game, Morant was playing second-fiddle to Murray State senior star Jonathan Stark.
Going from that to being the top trending topic on Twitter in America Friday night and being just a few months away from becoming a millionaire has to be a staggering transition to wrap your brain around. The struggle to process so much good in such a short period of time was apparent in Morant’s emotional response.
March is the best.