Jordan All-American Classic Note #1: Christian Morris

I attended practice Tuesday night at the Gauchos Gym in the Bronx for Saturday night's Jordan Brand Regional Game at Madison Square Garden, and spoke with various coaches and players. Raphael Chillious, head coach at the South Kent School (Ct.), chimed in on the recruitment of Christian Morris, a 6-8 junior center from the Bronx being recruited by several schools, including Rutgers. Morris is not competing in the Jordan Game, but Chillious is the assistant coach of the Suburban Team under Linden coach Phil Colicchio.

"He's still pretty much open," Chillious said of Morris. "He has Rutgers, South Carolina, Florida, Wake Forest, Virginia. UCLA called (Monday) and they're very interested. Ben Howland's going to come see him this weekend (at the Kingwood Classic).

"There are a lot of schools."

And when might Morris commit?

"He might want to do it this summer because he told me he wants to really just focus on school the last year," Chillious said. "He wants to just play and win."

How involved has Rutgers been?

"Rutgers has been very involved. (Assistant coach) Craig Carter's done a great job. I think they've developed a great rapport. I can't tell you how many times (Morris) has been to Rutgers unofficially so he knows the program very well."

And what kind of player will Christian be at the college level?

"His game is going to translate better to college than it is to prep school and high school. He's so big and strong, the referees call everything. He gets no calls, none, and then they call everything against him, so it's hard for him to get a flow in some games. But in college, everything that gets called against him offensively, will be called for him because he's so big and strong he can make guys bounce off of him and score.

"He's a 6-8 five, but he can play some four because he can face up 12 feet and in. But around the bucket, he's just a horse. I see him stepping into any program in the Big East and making an impact. He's just so strong...He's a monster."

(Photo courtesy scout.com)