Morrison and Redick: Together Again, Unlike Old Time
O on June 10th, 2009
With the Los Angeles Lakers and the Orlando Magic going up against each other in the NBA finals, an old rivalry has been rekindled. No, it is not the rivalry that existed between the organizations when the Lakers signed Shaq away from the Magic in 1996. It is not the rivalry between the two cities over which one is better between Disneyland (Anaheim, CA) and Disney World (Orlando, FL). The rivalry that has been rekindled is the rivalry between Adam Morrison and J.J. Redick, who three years ago were the two best college basketball players in the country, but today, they find themselves on the bench for both of their teams who happened to make the NBA finals this season.
Both Morrison and Redick were heralded coming into the NBA because of what they both accomplished in their college careers. Morrison was originally from Montana, but moved to Spokane, Washington later on and played college basketball for Gonzaga University for three years. Morrison was not heavily recruited out of high school, but he was good immediately at Gonzaga and within two seasons, he was averaging 19 points per game at Gonzaga. It was his last season that everyone remembers as Morrison averaged 28.1 points as he led the nation in scoring and was the winner or the runner-up in just about every national player of the year award in college basketball that season.
J.J. Redick was the most hated player in the country for 3 years, but he was also the most accomplished as well. Duke was the most popular college basketball team in the country and Redick was the catalyst behind a lot of the success at Duke during his time there. His forte was his perimeter shooting and his accuracy from the free-throw line. He played in the ACC, known as the best conference in the country when it comes to college basketball, set many records in the conference such as most consecutive free throws made, most career ACC tournament points, and he was the ACC career point leader until Tyler Hansbrough broke his record in March. He was the ACC Player of the Year in 2005 and 2006, the Naismith College Player of the Year, and the John R. Wooden Award in his last season at Duke.
If these two were so great in and for college basketball, why have they not done well in the NBA? Well, the answer used to be their defensive ability since neither one has exceptional athletic ability. In Morrison’s case, injuries have hindered his ability to attack the basket and to play defense. In Redick’s case, he has never been able to get his shot on his own and he does not have the size or athleticism that a lot of players have. The thing is that one of these players will have something that eluded them in college and that was a championship. What is sad that they will have very little say in who actually wins the title.
