In My Opinion

Player Preview- Devontae Morgan

by Tyler Hicks

Welcome to the fourth 2013-2014 player preview. Each preview will be broken down into three sections: Player Comparison, Player Breakdown, and This Season’s Outlook. In the Player Comparison section, I’ll be comparing each current Bulldog player to a past or present NBA or college player. More than anything, I will be comparing styles of play. In the Player Breakdown section, I’ll break down the Bulldog player’s game focusing on strengths and weaknesses. Lastly, in the This Season Outlook section, I will go through what to expect this coming season from the player including predictions for roles and statistics.

 

DEVONTAE MORGAN
G/6’3/176 lbs
Sophomore

 

PLAYER COMPARISON- Shawn Vanzant (Butler University/Island Storm)

Both of these combo guards came to Butler with raw skill sets. Vanzant left Indianapolis as a very well-rounded player, with a much more developed game both on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball than when his college career started. All Bulldog fans hope the same happens with Morgan who’s game is very similar to the former Bulldog and fellow Floridians. Both players came in as good athletes, with Vanzant having great quickness and speed and Morgan having spectacular jumping ability, shown off by his #1 play on SportsCenter during his freshman campaign. Morgan didn’t have a great freshman season so it will be up to the Butler coaches to develop his game as well as they did with Vanzant’s.

 

PLAYER BREAKDOWN

Strengths:

  • Athletic
  • Explosive
  • Potential

Weaknesses:

  • Lack of defined position

Is he a wing or a point guard? Ideally, he is a point guard, but with a lack of a jump shot and ball handling, he has had to be more of a wing.

  • Ball handling
  • Jump shot
  • Lack of game experience

 

THIS SEASON’S OUTLOOK

Stats Prediction:

8 mpg, 2 ppg, 1 apg, .3 spg 40% FG%

Morgan will come off the bench and have the opportunity to play some minutes, especially with Roosevelt Jones out for the season. I wouldn’t expect a huge jump in skills, but never underestimate the power of experience. If anything, Morgan will be a more mature player. He will have an opportunity, along with many other guards and wings, to impress with Jones out.