Gage Johnson
Sports Editor
Two years, two OVC Championships, two NCAA Tournament appearances, a Lute Olson award, a Bob Cousy award and an OVC Player of the Year award later, Ja Morant’s jersey is now hanging amongst other Racer greats in the rafters of the CFSB Center.
As Murray State men’s basketball led 35-26 into the second half, fans remained in the seats waiting for the main event—Morant’s jersey retirement.
Once again Morant, along with his family, drew massive applause from a sea of Murray State fans donning the No. 12.
Arguably the best rookie in the NBA, Morant said it was amazing to see so many people wear his jersey, just like he did with some of his idols as a kid.
“It’s special,” Morant said. “It’s definitely surreal almost, growing up having a favorite player and wearing that jersey and now I have people out here wearing my jersey.”
After a tribute video, Head Coach Matt McMahon, his former teammates and Racer Nation erupted as Morant’s banner unrolled next to none other than the all-time fifth-leading scorer Isaiah Canaan’s.
After a moving speech from McMahon, Morant took the microphone to address the crowd. He fought back tears while joking that nobody on the Racer sideline could wear his number.
“I can’t even put my feelings into words,” Morant said. “I’m just blessed and I’m happy to be where I am and thankful for everything.”
Along with many thank-yous, he shouted out his parents and the words that keep him humble and hungry as he continues his career in the NBA.
“My mom told me I’m beneath no one,” Morant said. “My dad told me I’m trained to go. Every step I take, I live by those.”
As Morant wrapped up his speech, he invited his former teammates out for one last go at the team’s signature dance celebration from the 2018-19 season.
“They’re still my guys, my brothers, my family,” Morant said. “People in the stands [are] my family. I’m going to continue to show my support whenever I can come down.”
Senior forward Anthony Smith said it was awesome to see the Racer great get the acknowledgement he earned in his short time at Murray State.
“It was good seeing Ja back,” Smith said. “You just saw him since he first got on campus put in a lot of work and it was a well-deserved honor for him.”
While winning with the Racers was his biggest priority, Morant said he’d by lying if he didn’t admit he wanted to see his jersey immortalized in Murray State basketball history.
“I’m going to be honest, it definitely was a goal,” Morant said. “I fell in love with Murray State—I think everybody knows that now—just coming in I was trying to do whatever I can like I always do to try and be the best Ja I can be on and off the floor. I never thought it would come this fast but it happened tonight and I’m thankful for it.”
A year after cementing his legacy at Murray State in his sophomore year, Morant was taken No. 2 overall in the NBA Draft by the Memphis Grizzlies, is expected to win Rookie of the Year, is continuing to get his degree at Murray State and has become a father.
All of this seemed to have happened in the blink of an eye to many and the young phenom NBA point guard feels the same way.
“It felt like everything has just happened so fast,” Morant said. “My parents and family tell me everyday, ‘I don’t know how you’re handling this at 20 years old.’ These past two years have been crazy. The accolades, winning, the draft, having my daughter and now I’m one of the most talked about rookies in the NBA. It feels like I was just talking to you guys about going from a nobody to one of the most talked about players in college. I feel like what I went through just keeps humbling me and keeps me hungry and lets me play with that chip on my shoulder.”
While this may be one of his final big moments in a monstrous two-year career with the Racers, Morant said Murray holds a special place in his heart and he won’t be a stranger to the 270.
“No question,” Morant said. “This is my home. South Carolina, Murray and now Memphis. Murray is just so special. It’s always going to be home for me. People [here] will always be my family. You all will see my face a lot and just show where I came from and show some support.”
Morant continued to support the Racers as they continued their heated battle with SIUE after the halftime ceremony.
The Cougars clawed their way back from an 11-point deficit and knotted things up at 46 with 12:42 left to play.
The comeback was led by none other than senior guard Tyrese Williford, who went head-to-head with Morant last season at SIUE and had 33 points.
This matchup wasn’t too different, as Williford controlled the pace of play for much of the game, scoring 22 points on 9-for-15 shooting to go along with three steals.
“He’s lightning quick [and] he’s got the ball on a string,” McMahon said. “He’s terrific handling the basketball, he’s creative, he’s really good using ball screens and he shoots the ball well. When he’s shooting it well from three, it makes for a really difficult cover.”
However, once momentum seemed to be completely going SIUE’s way, the Racers had other plans.
For the last 12:42 of the game, the Cougars went 1-for-17 and sank six free throws, ultimately giving Murray State the 74-55 win to cap off a historic night.
McMahon said the team’s intensity on the defensive end and sophomore KJ Williams’ paint presence powered the Racers past SIUE in crunch time.
“I thought KJ Williams really started to dominate the painted area,” McMahon said. “He had some nice finishes in the post, but defensively we went to a halfcourt-press and I thought our guys’ effort and energy to fly around and make it really difficult on Edwardsville to score was great.”
Murray State was also able to hold the Cougars’ leading scorer junior guard Zack Moore to 4 points on 1-for-12 shooting on the night.
Sophomore guard Tevin Brown (17 pts) and senior guard Jaiveon Eaves (14 pts) finished in double figures for the Racers.
The win moves Murray State to 17-5 overall and 10-0 in OVC play. The Racers will look to continue its winning ways when they take on Belmont at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 6, in Nashville, Tennessee.
[slideshow_deploy id=’188001′]
Photos by Gage Johnson and Jillian Rush/TheNews
