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With the No. 16 selection in the NBA Draft, the Philadelphia 76ers select …
Commissioner David Stern will finish the sentence tonight at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. — site of the 2011 NBA Draft. One of the possible options, should he still be available, is Prep Charter High grad and University of Kansas product Markieff Morris, a 6-foot-10 power forward. Depending on which mock draft board you look at, the forecasts vary as to where the big man will land. Twin brother Marcus Morris, also of Prep Charter, is projected as a lottery selection, with some boards projecting the 6-foot-9 forward going as high as No. 9 to the Charlotte Bobcats.
Luckily, the suspense ends tonight, as Philadelphia’s version of the twin towers has been invited to sit in the greenroom with their families. Once the commissioner calls their name, they’ll be handed the cap of the respective team and be invited to shake hands with Stern on stage.
Markieff returned to the area June 15 for a workout with the 76ers. It was one of 10 he had with potential suitors. But getting a chance to showcase his talents for the hometown team provided Markieff with a little extra motivation.
“It was a good workout,” he said following the session. “I definitely wanted to impress these guys as much as possible.”
He has been separated from his twin brother during the pre-draft process, and come next season, they’ll be playing on separate teams. It marks a major change after leading Prep Charter, 1928 Point Breeze Ave., to back-to-back state championships and helping Kansas achieve the nation’s No. 1 ranking. As a junior, he averaged 13.6 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. Marcus led the Jayhawks offense with 17.2 points per contest.
Neumann-Goretti, 1736 S. 10th St., and Syracuse University grad Rick Jackson also visited with the Sixers earlier this month as a potential second-round selection. Some projections have the 6-foot-9 forward landing at No. 44 with the Golden State Warriors. The 6-foot-9 forward averaged a double-double of 13.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game during his senior year at Syracuse.
By the time the clock strikes midnight, all three of these athletes will know if they have a future in the NBA.
The NBA Draft can be seen live tonight on ESPN and ESPN3 starting at 7 p.m. SPR
Contact Editor Bill Gelman at bgelman@southphillyreview.com or ext. 121.
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