High release makes Morrison hard to stop

TACOMA — Adam Morrison of Spokane's Mead High School arrived at the Class 4A state boys basketball tournament with a reputation as the best player east of the Cascades.

He wasted no time validating all the hype.

Brooks vs. Morrison Aaron Brooks and Adam Morrison last night staged one of the best duels in the history of the 4A state boys tournament. A comparison: BROOKS STATISTIC MORRISON 38 Points 37 13-29 Field goals 37981 0.448 FG pct. 0.462 37686 Three-point FG 0-7 0.5 Three-point pct. 0 37875 Free throws 13-17 0.818 Free-throw pct. 0.765 5 Rebounds 11 1 Assists 1 6 Turnovers 3 4 Fouls 4 1.195138889 Minutes played 1.333333333

His tournament was remarkable: He scored 37 in last night's championship-game loss to Franklin, averaged 31.8 for the week and tied the four-game 4A tournament scoring record of 127 points set in 1989 by ex-Mead star Jeff Brown.

Last night, Franklin guard Aaron Brooks scored 38 to upstage Morrison in the final, but it couldn't erase the Mead senior's amazing season.

The 6-foot-7 senior, who has signed with Gonzaga, already was the all-time leading scorer in the Greater Spokane League, passing the mark of 1,214 points in league games by Sean Mallon of Ferris.

The forward has a high release on his shot similar to his favorite ex-pro, Larry Bird. He enjoys watching old Boston Celtics games.

"We have similar styles," Morrison said. "I try to model my game after his."

Morrison's accomplishments have come as he has dealt with Type 1 Diabetes that was first diagnosed in eighth grade. His blood-sugar level is monitored during timeouts and his mother, Wanda, who sits behind the bench during games, takes a reading. Based on the number, her son drinks juice, eats something or receives injections.