Morrison carries an outlaw’s mindset

Gonzaga coach Mark Few recently compared the Bulldogs’ Adam Morrison, the most proficient scorer in all of NCAA Division I men’s basketball, to Old West legend Jesse James.

It’s an intriguing comparison that seems to work on a couple of different levels.

Like James, Morrison finds himself, at nearly every stop on GU’s demanding schedule, directly in the crosshairs of every young defensive gun trying to make a name for himself. And like James, Morrison is a bit of an outlaw himself.

All of which has led to some wildly entertaining moments – not all of them flattering – involving the Zags’ trash-talking and tremendously talented junior forward, who has had his share of dust-ups with opponents both this season and last.

One of the most visible came at the end of last Saturday’s 64-63 road win over San Diego, which was decided on a late 3-pointer by Erroll Knight.

When the game ended, television cameras caught Morrison celebrating in the face of USD’s Corey Belser, who had just put in 40 minutes of yeoman-like work in helping hold GU’s scoring phenom to 16 points.

Morrison’s celebration caused a minor stir among certain Zags fans who watched numerous replays of the incident that night and the next day. Some, commenting on internet chat rooms and in phone calls and e-mails to The Spokesman-Review, said they considered Morrison’s action a bit boorish and over the edge.

But those closest to the situation, including Belser, didn’t read it exactly that way.

“At first I thought he was trying to show me up,” Belser said in a phone interview Wednesday. “But he was a real gentleman about it after the game. I think it was just the excitement of the moment, and that he was that happy. They won the game, and he loves to win.”

Few said he watched video of Morrison’s postgame reaction later that evening and didn’t think it was as much about Belser as it was about Knight.

“More than anything it was because Erroll made the shot,” Few explained. “Erroll is his best friend, and he was just giddy over it.”

Morrison admitted to being frustrated by the defensive tactics of Belser and his teammates, but insisted his celebration was based on excitement rather than animosity.

“It was just a thing of emotion,” he said. “That was a grind-out game. It was like a football game, and I was pumped.

“I guarantee you a lot of (USD’s) fans and their guys probably didn’t think Erroll was going to make it. But we knew he was going to make it, so that’s why I was so excited. To see Erroll just step up and knock that down – it was pure emotion. It was fun.”

Still, there is no denying Morrison’s emotional outbursts can occasionally rub opposing players, coaches and fans the wrong way.

“He’s probably the least politically correct of any of our guys, and he doesn’t seem to mind inciting a riot in opposing gyms,” Few said of his brash preseason All-American and a college basketball player-of-year candidate. “I’m not here to say he’s perfect. But, by and large, I think he’s done a good job of staying focused. And I think his performances reflect that.”

Few said he has noticed an obvious increase in the bumping, grabbing and clutching Morrison has had to endure from defenders as his legend has grown.

“It just seems to me like in the last two weeks it’s gotten a lot more physical around Adam,” Few explained. “In our non-league games, what you had was phenomenal athletes looking at (guarding Morrison) as a challenge – matching him up one-on-one, ‘Let’s go at it.’

“Now what you’re seeing is some – I don’t know if you’d call it gamesmanship, or trying to cheap-shot him, talk and taunt – but there’s a lot of other stuff going on.”

As a result, Few said he is constantly warning Morrison about letting his frustrations and emotions reach the point of a possible ejection.

“I interject hourly with Adam, I have his whole career,” Few said through an appreciative smile. “But he needs constant reminders, because he’s a highly competitive, fiery competitor who sometimes loses sight of just how valuable he is.

“He loses sight of a role player (from the other team) trying to take him out of the game, where it’s a huge loss for us and a marginal loss for them.”

Morrison claims to understand.

“Just the fact that I’m the best scorer on the team, average-wise, that’s going to happen,” he said. “The same thing happened to Blake (Stepp), and it obviously happened to Ronny (Turiaf) last year.

“People are going to try to get up into you and play physical. The way I look at it, guys are just trying to compete and do whatever they can to help their team. It’s not like they’re trying to hurt me or anything.

“We’ve got some guys who grab and hold a lot, too, so it goes both ways. It’s just part of the game.”

When asked about his relationship with Belser, Morrison added: “He plays hard. He doesn’t back down from anybody and you’ve got to respect a guy who, night in and night out, is assigned the toughest guy.

“Obviously, we don’t like each other. But that doesn’t mean I don’t respect him.”

As for all the trash-talking he does, Morrison insists it’s mostly in fun.

As an example, he points to the exchange he had with a San Francisco player late in the first half of the Monday night’s game.

“I told one of their guys, ‘You should get out of the zone (defense),’ ” recalled Morrison, who had burned the Dons for 26 points at that time. “He was like, ‘Yeah, we should get out of the zone,’ but it wasn’t his call.

“So, a lot of it is just friendly stuff – nothing bad. It’s just players competing against each other and having a good time out there, as well.”