How Ja Morant Went From An UNKNOWN Highschool Player TO NBA ALL-STAR

What if I told you guys that the story of Ja Morant almost never happened? When it comes to Ja Morant, we're talking about somebody here that's already one of the best young players in the entire NBA. Somebody that's going to be on multiple all-NBA teams before it's said and done. And the crazy thing is, nobody's going to argue with what I just said. It's his first year in the NBA. You want to talk about good? Well this guy is great and he had to be to get discovered. Ja isn't the first player to build a name or reputation at a small school and he won't be the last. When you look at players who've came out of Murray State recently, they just haven't been the highest level of NBA players and that's not to slight them, that's just to show that the odds were against Ja from the start. But of course the odds being stacked against Ja started far beyond his time at Murray State. This guy was an unranked high school prospect. I'm not talking about myself though that is relative information, I'm talking about the second pick in the 2019 NBA draft. The guy whose dunks remind us of a young Russell Westbrook. Whose handles remind us of Kyrie Irvings. Whose ability to see the floor reminds us of Chris Paul. Whose jump shot reminds us of Steph. Ok so maybe that's where I draw the line. But 37% from the 3 point line as a rookie, tough. While some of what I said may be hyperbole, I'm sure you guys get the point that I'm trying to make. It's like Morant was made in a lab. The perfect point guard prospect with all of the tools to be great. That's at least how it would seem. What Ja had, what Ja has is invaluable. It's heart, it's grind, it's determination. Ok so let's take things back a notch. Zion Williamson and Ja Morant. The top 2 picks in the NBA draft and 2 players who rightfully deserved rookie of the year in the 2019-2020 NBA season. That is of course if you overlook Zion not playing most of the season. The media tried to make a beef of this whole thing but it just wasn't there. 2 South Carolina Hoopers, AAU teammates. But here's where what they have in common runs out. Take a look at the recruiting website 24-7 sports. When you look at Zion's old high school page you see exactly what you would expect. A nice photo of him in a USA basketball jersey, 5 star rating, McDonald's All American, offers from Duke, Kansas, Kentucky, and North Carolina. The top ranked recruit from South Carolina. And full evaluations that let us know exactly how good and dominant Zion really is. I mean come on, who doesn't love a good Zion Williamson dunk compilation. Zion's hype was real and he earned every bit of it. Even though at times his high school comp wasn't the best, it really didn't matter. Now let's check out Ja Morant's page. No photo, no player ranking, and no evaluation. Nothing. ESPN and Rivals didn't rank him. Not one star from either of them. Max Preps did rank him though. They ranked him 1,230th in the country his junior year. So it's something. How could that be though? How did Ja Morant go from an unknown high school prospect to an instant star in the NBA? Let's start from the beginning. Morant is originally from DeZell, South Carolina and attended Crestwood High School in nearby Sumter. His father T played college ball at an NAIA and ran countless drills in their backyard, working on Ja's shooting, ball handling, and vertical leap. Ja joined the AAU circuit during high school. Albeit for a regional grassroots team called the South Carolina Hornets, Ja was ready to hoop. The team had a lot of budding talent, and Morant, he spent the summer before his sophomore year playing with Zion Williamson, who was just entering the 9th grade. Two years later, despite being named All-State and All-Regional MVP as a junior, it wasn't enough. Ja was still flying under the radar, but a chance encounter at a local AAU camp, the summer before his senior year, changed everything. Ja was a late invite, and he wasn't listed in the recruiting program. But somehow, when everyone was divided up after a series of tests and drills, Ja was sent to a bag gym to play three-on-three while the top performers remained in the main gym to scrimmage in front of college scouts. This is where things get fun. Murray State assistant coach James Cain was one of those scouts. He was there to check out a wing named Tevin Brown, who had already committed to the school, hungry and in need of a snack. Cain wandered around looking for the concession stand, but instead he found himself in the auxiliary gym. The same gym where Ja Morant was dominating three-on-three games. He was sold by Ja's creativity and ball-handling ability. Cain looked further into Ja and found out that Ja was scheduled to actually play against Tevin Brown the next day. Cain called the head coach at Murray State and advised the head coach to drop everything and come see Morant for himself, and he did. And Ja? Ja went off. And the college offers? They finally started coming in. Murray State. UNC Asheville. Wofford. The University of South Carolina. September 1st, the Morants made their official visit to Murray State. It was a perfect match. Ja committed to the Racers on the spot. With his college choice out of the way, Morant was again named All-State and All-Regional MVP after averaging 27 points, 8 assists, and 8 boards as a senior, and finishing as his high school's all-time leading scorer. As a freshman, Morant started all 32 games for Murray State, averaging 12.7 points, 6.5 rebounds, and 6.3 assists as the Racers went 26-6, and they reached the NCAA tournament for the first time in 6 years. He had 11 assists in his first collegiate game. He recorded a triple-double in his first-ever conference game. He was named first-team All-Ohio Valley Conference and added to the All-OVC newcomer team. All these rewards, and you telling me he still couldn't get any recognition? Let's take a look at an article that talks about the best freshman in the country in 2018-2019. It ranks the 10 best, as well as 16 honorable mention. I know Ja is going to be on here somewhere. Go figure, I was wrong. Heading into Ja's sophomore season, he still wasn't on any preseason All-American teams, but things started to change. He was one of 20 players invited to the prestigious Chris Paul CP3 Elite Guard Camp. From there, he exploded onto the national scene, 26 points and 11 assists in his sophomore season opener. A triple-double two games later, followed by a 38-point effort against Alabama, Ja was hooping. Morant had made the midseason top 25 watchlist for the Wooden Award and was being projected as a, you guessed it, top 5 NBA draft pick. Ja's final numbers to finish the season were absolutely unreal. He led the nation in assists with 10 assists per game. He ranked 8th in the country with 24.5 points per game. For reference, Chris Paul never topped over 7 assists his two seasons at Wake Forest. Ben Simmons? He didn't even average over 5 assists per game in college. You can say it's apples to oranges, but it's not exactly like Ja was playing with a prime Kentucky one-and-done roster. This is a player who was the complete package, who made his team better in every aspect of the game of basketball. Perhaps that's why he draws comparisons already to some of the NBA's best and most talented point guards. We could compare Ja and his rookie year to a young Derek Rose, who put up 16.8 points, 6.3 assists, and 3.9 rebounds for the Chicago Bulls in the 2008-2009 season. Rose's rookie year was epic and well worth the price of admission. We had truly never seen a point guard like Derek Rose ever before, the same way I'm not sure I've ever seen a point guard like Ja. What Derek Rose did against the Boston Celtics Big 3 not only was historic, it set the tone. If there were any doubters left, they would turn to Believers, the same way Ja has been turning doubters to Believers his entire career. A rookie season averaging 17.6 points, 3.5 rebounds, and 6.9 assists? That's no joke. Somebody remind me, where did everybody have the Memphis Grizzlies finishing this season, before the season started? I know it took some lottery luck, but with the Grizzlies selecting Ja Morant second overall in the 2019-2020 NBA draft, the entire outlook of their franchise changed. I know Ja's not going to stop working until that team is a true contender. While Ja's rise was unconventional, the cream normally rises to the top, and I think he would have been here regardless. But I think it's funny that the story that we know of Ja Morant was so close to being an entirely different story. While making player comparisons is fun, it's safe to say Ja is going to have his own story and be his own player. He's going to be the first Ja Morant, and we wouldn't have it any other way. Be sure to click the video on the screen right now guys, it's incredibly dope, you guys won't want to miss it. I'm Dkoop, be sure to subscribe, notis on. I'm out.