At the time, first-grader Morgan was long and lanky, getting used to the body type that eventually would make him a coveted recruit. He signed up for ballet to help his feet and movement, not to learn the delicate, bending-knee basics of graceful dancers.
After two years of ballet classes — he later joined a group focused more on dexterity than dance — Morgan was on his way to vast improvement.
“That just started me in doing something every day, getting better every day,” he said. “I upgraded from that to strength training, and speed training, and I knew I had to do more.”
Committing to off-court work, Morgan has built himself into a 6-10, 240-pound force in the middle who mixes soft touch around the basket with aggression in rebounding. The result: a rise on recruiting lists.
Morgan, like all players around the state, will begin a new season tonight. He will do so with even greater size and skill than a season ago, when he averaged 12.7 points and 8.7 rebounds per game.
He holds scholarship offers from Dayton, Wright State, West Virginia, Ohio University, USC, Toledo and Iowa State. He attended Tuesday’s Ohio State-Duke basketball games with tickets provided by the Buckeyes as they continue to keep watch.
Family members and coaches say Morgan has remained grounded during the recruiting process, keeping a level head despite genes that come from a 6-foot-7 father and nearly 6-foot mother and a size-18 shoe.
“When he was a younger kid, we wondered if he could ever play at Springboro,” said Panthers coach Troy Holtrey, who is entering his 21st season at the school. “As a junior, we think his upside is off the charts.”
Staying level-headed
Six years ago, a baby boy entered Morgan’s family. His parents were both big fans of “To Kill a Mockingbird,” and they thought about naming their newborn Atticus after the character Atticus Finch.
The older brother stepped in.
“He said, ‘That’ll cause him some problems,’ ” Jeff Morgan, the boys’ father, said with a laugh. “And we thought, ‘He’s right.’ That was a kid six, seven years ago, in elementary school, being very aware.”
The family keeps its “To Kill a Mockingbird” connection with its youngest, whom they named Mitchell Atticus, by calling him Boo, a nod to the character Boo Radley.
Morgan’s own name was inspired by Tom Cruise’s character in the movie Top Gun. Most call him “Mav.”
Jeff Morgan, who was a member of Middletown High’s 1974-75 team that went undefeated in the regular season, played at Lee University in Tennessee. He coached his son on youth teams and has watched him improve significantly since he entered high school.
“I can miss a month of AAU games, then go watch him, and he does something different,” Jeff Morgan said. “He just tries so hard to get better.”
That continues off the court, Jeff Morgan said. Maverick serves as a mentor to a seventh-grader from Franklin who, Jeff Morgan said, has “had a rough life, and Maverick is with him probably two or three times a week. He takes him places, and he gets Boo involved, too. No one told him he had to do that. He lived near (Morgan’s) aunt, and Mav wanted to help him.”
Sometimes, Jeff Morgan said, the big body can disguise what should be immaturity for his age.
“He’s 6-10, and he acts so mature most of the time you’d think he’s 30 years old,” Jeff Morgan said. “But then he turns right back into that high school kid.”
On-court improvement
When Morgan was a Springboro freshman, he was 6-6 and 170 pounds, still growing into his sizeable frame. Last season, he was a varsity starter at 6-9 and ranked second in the Greater Western Ohio Conference with a 63.5 shooting percentage.
He produced a double-double in his first varsity game — 11 points and 11 rebounds. Against Wayne, which went 22-2 last season, he had 23 points and 10 rebounds. In the Panthers’ postseason opener against Xenia, he had 21 points, 16 rebounds and five blocks.
Morgan said such results come in part from his work with Fast-Twitch performance enhancement training at Southview Hospital in Centerville. The program includes work in strength training, speed, acceleration and agility as Morgan puts in the extra time to tame his once-gangly body type.
“I might’ve been in shape at 170, but I was getting bullied around,” Morgan said. “I knew I had to do more.”
Many, including high-level college coaches, are anxious to see more of those results in the upcoming prep games.
“He plays a true center’s position when it’s hard to find guys who are true centers,” Holtrey said. “That’s what he has worked to become.”
Contact this reporter at (937) 225-7389 or knagel@DaytonDailyNews.com.
About the Author
