A true forward, he’s playing out of position at center, for cryin’ out loud, and the kid had never lifted a weight before coming to Nebraska from Chicago Simeon High School.
“That’s been another thing, just playing with my back to the basket and defending guys bigger than me,” Morrow said. “I guess I had to get stronger, more physical, understanding positioning and stuff like that.”
Trying to do much, too fast, though, was taking away Morrow’s biggest asset he can offer this team.
That’s his lift and explosiveness.
“In college, they want you to get better at this, this and that, but I think I was overworking myself in the gym,” Morrow said after Nebraska’s 84-59 victory Tuesday against Minnesota. “I was trying to get better too fast. I was overdoing it, and that really affected me on the floor. I wasn’t as bouncy as I was.”
That helps explain why Morrow, whose high school highlight film was dotted with impressive dunks, was attempting point-blank layups rather than stuffing the ball, something that happened as recently as Dec. 30 against Northwestern.
Fans saw the old Morrow against Minnesota, when he had a couple of dunks on his 4-of-5 shooting night for nine points. He also had three offensive rebounds in his 16 minutes of action off the bench.
