Feb. 9, 2011
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Twenty-seven and two.
It was certainly an unusual stat line for Michigan's Jordan Morgan in Wednesday night's 75-66 victory over Northwestern at Crisler Arena.
The Wolverines started a four-guard lineup with Morgan, a 6-foot-8, 240-pound redshirt freshman, in the middle. All four guards, along with another one coming off the bench, finished with more rebounds than their big man.
"I might have to say a little something to him about that," point guard Darius Morris said, smiling. "But it's all good. We got the win, and he had a great game."
Morgan's career-high scoring night will come as quite a surprise for many people who thought he might not get that many points in his career, much less in one game.
This was a seemingly long-term project recruit for coach John Beilein, but Morgan is developing faster and better than most thought possible.
"Expectations were really low for him coming in," Morris said. "A lot of people didn't know about him. All his life, he's just been a hard worker. He was kind of overlooked."
Here's what Beilein said he thought he was getting when he signed Morgan: "He had a fall birthday, which means he would be a 17-year-old coming to college, and he had a great body."
That's not exactly what the Wolverines got last year after Morgan arrived on campus.
"He was overweight and then he had an injury (knee) right away," Beilein said. "He didn't look like the same guy I saw with the potential as a junior. He's worked very hard to get that body in good shape, and his hands so that he can catch."
