Morris twins play to strengths

In Bill Self's 18 years in college basketball, he had never coached twins. But when he convinced Marcus and Markieff Morris three years ago to leave Philadelphia and play for him at Kansas, he knew what he was getting.

And getting into.

Self had two highly skilled yet diverse players, who each play to the other's strengths. And he was also getting played by the identical twins early on.

"Yeah, they messed with me," Self said Thursday at Orleans Arena, where the No. 6 Jayhawks (4-0) will face Ohio (3-1) at 5 p.m. today in the 10th Las Vegas Invitational before meeting Arizona (4-0) at 7:30 p.m. Saturday in a nationally televised game on ESPN2 (Cable 31).

"They would switch jerseys at practice and I'd get them confused. It took me awhile to know which one is which. So when I yelled at one of them, I was probably yelling at the wrong guy."

That's no longer a problem for Self or opposing coaches who have to prepare for the Morrises. They know who's who.

Marcus, a 6-foot-9-inch junior forward, is perimeter oriented as the Jayhawks' leading scorer at 18 points per game. Markieff, a 6-10 junior forward, is a shot-blocking menace who loves to mix it up under the boards and is Kansas' leading rebounder with 11.5 per game.

"He's a better scorer than people think," Marcus said of Markieff, who is averaging 12 points. "We've got a really good chemistry. We know each other's strengths and weaknesses and we can help each other on the floor."

Markieff said his progress is the result of improved conditioning.

"I got in better shape over the summer, and because my conditioning is better, I can stay on the floor longer and do more things," he said.

While Markieff was working out in Lawrence, Kan., over the summer, Marcus spent time in Las Vegas in late July with the USA Basketball Select Team, helping to prepare Kevin Durant, Andre Iguodala and the rest of Team USA to win the FIBA World Championships.

"That was a cool experience," Marcus said. "You play against guys like Kevin Durant every day, it forces you to work harder. Otherwise they're going to embarrass you, and nobody wants that to happen to them."

Early in their careers at Kansas, the Morrises weren't known for their work ethic, and Self had to get on them.

"They were always talented," Self said. "But they were lazy. They had three or four more gears in them. Now, they're among our hardest workers."

Marcus Morris said if anything opened his eyes about pursuing his NBA dream, it was seeing firsthand how hard the pros worked, on and off the court.

"It gave me an idea of what I need to do to get to the next level," he said. "I needed to work on my speed and strength."

Marcus' lone regret was that his twin brother wasn't in Las Vegas with him.

"He's good enough," Marcus said. "I guess they only had room for so many big guys."

But they're back in town together, and if Markieff can keep playing at a high level alongside his brother, it will further the Jayhawks' mission to win a seventh straight Big 12 Conference title and a second national title in four years.

"They've been a blast to coach," Self said. "Their chemistry is great and they are so unselfish. They are a couple of the components that are in place for us to have a nice season."

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.