With great use of strength as a scorer, Marcus Morris should transition to the NBA game rapidly. He is a scorer in the Pacers-era Ron Artest mode and though he has a long ways to go to become a 20 points per game type of guy, he has the capacity to have a longer plateau because he is more of a natural at this point in his development.

For being a player who uses his strength so keenly, Morris is very fluid and quick with the ball. He does a good job of keeping things simple in the halfcourt by not going too fast and this helps him maintain his balance and control with the dribble.

The measured way he takes his ISO and post attempts makes his first step with the ball feel and appear even more quick and explosive.

Morris has good awareness around the bucket and rarely looks flustered on the floor. He is extremely skilled in the post, with an entire arsenal of moves he will utilize. Morris scored more of his points in the post than any other area and even though he will play against far superior individual defenders in the NBA, he will see fewer double teams and zones and it will be interesting to see if he can surpass his collegiate stats in the contrast.

There is a fearlessness to his game, both in terms of his physical play and the absence of restrictive self-doubt.

I admittedly think more highly of him than most because I view him as an ideal small forward. He has a pure basketball skill-set and that is coupled with the aforementioned excellent strength. As important, Morris should be able to comfortably guard either forward position on most nights and that versatility is invaluable in an era when power forwards increasingly rely on a finesse game.

As a shooter, Morris is surprisingly advanced given the ease in which he can impose his will physically upon his opponent. He has a clean follow-through and is very smooth flashing to the ball for a catch-and-shoot.

Morris played at the elbow with great frequency while at Kansas and that area of the floor certainly suits him. He is a dribble or two away from being near the bucket and can also hit that little 15-foot jumper with consistency.

Morris will bring immediate value to his NBA team as a screener. He was frequently successful rolling to the bucket and the pick-and-pop should exponentially improve since his foundation is already strong. Morris has good footwork on the pop, though he does move a little slower than ideal.

As mentioned above, Morris has the capacity to defend two positions, but he is more of a classic small forward. He doesn’t have a ton of length, but he can offset some of that with his size. Morris doesn’t defend the interior as well as you would imagine just be looking at him walk on the floor.

Morris has the potential of being a highly intelligent defender. His heart seems to be there already on the defensive end, but his heart seems to wane at times. You see that on occasion when he closes out on shooters without as much urgency as most coaches would prefer.

But he defends the perimeter well and does a good job against ISO scorers.

While I don’t expect Morris to become anyone’s All-Star or franchise player, players who can score individually and in the post are always held at a premium.