Former Kansas Jayhawks Markieff Morris' early-season success with the Phoenix Suns has turned heads. So far in his rookie season, Morris is averaging 8.3 points and five rebounds per game, which has him ranked, by Scouts.com's David Thorpe, in the NBA's top-10 rookie's at No. 9.
Morris was recently interviewed by HoopsWorld.com and had a lot to say about what it's like to play in the NBA and what he's learned so far.
"First thing is to take care of my body. You’ve got to be healthy to play in this league. Second is to play as hard as possible and to always listen." Morris goes on to say, "We are only 12 games in, so down the road it probably will get harder. I’ve got to just keep taking care of my body and making sure I’m ready."
Many believe that Morris has a shot at being one of the candidates to make the rookie team for the NBA All-Star Rookie Challenge, but in his interview he said that he isn't concerned with any individual awards and he is just focused on winning.
"For me it’s really about winning. It’s not about individual goals, but for us to just keep getting better as a team every day and hopefully make the playoffs." Morris continued, "I need to play as hard as possible, try to steal extra possessions and just try and pick my teammates up.
"We can be a great team, we’ve got a lot of team chemistry. Right now we are still trying to find ourselves and it’s coming along, but we just have to keep working hard."
The Suns are currently sitting at 5-9 which puts them in 12th place in the NBA's Western Conference but it's early in the season and early in Morris' possibly very successful career. For more updates on the Phoenix Suns, check out Bright Side Of The Sun.