Know Your Newb: Jené MorrisBy Lois Elfman #40
Most of the current crop of WNBA rookies would say they dreamed of playing in the league from the time they were in high school if not earlier. Then there is Indiana Fever guard Jené Morris, who said a career in professional basketball didn’t really enter her mind until her senior year of college.
| Bonus Points |
| 1. Morris played her freshman year at California, where she helped lead the Golden Bears to their first NCAA Tournament appearance in 13 years. 2. The Atzecs made it to the Sweet 16 for the first time since the field expanded to 64 teams. 3. Morris was named an honorable mention All-American, MWC Defensive Player of the Year and first-team all-league selection both her junior and senior years. 4. The 11th pick, Morris is the first Atzec chosen in the WNBA Draft. 5. A media studies major that hopes to have a career in advertising, she has an eye for detail. |
“Every year, the goal was to get better and be the best college player I could be,” says Morris, who transferred to San Diego State after her freshman year.1 “I started getting national recognition after we made it to our first NCAA Tournament2(her junior year). Going into my senior season, I was named to a couple of the player of the year watch lists. That’s when the buzz kind of started. I really started to feel maybe I could take it to the next level.”3
Throughout college, Morris says her expectations were team expectations. It was only after she’d played her final college game that she started to believe that the WNBA could be a reality for her.
“I didn’t really believe it until I actually got to the Draft,” she says. “I remember getting off the plane and getting into the limo and I started crying. I thought, ‘This is really happening.’ I could finally accept that it was actually a possibility that I was going to the WNBA.”4
Even though she was in a state of disbelief, Morris still prepared for Draft day. She agonized over what to wear.
“I wanted to be different, but at the same time not overdo it,” she says. She settled on a short black dress with colorful accessories. Her only disappointment was that her shoes weren’t shown on TV or in photographs as they matched her earrings and bracelets. “The whole thing had coordination.”5
Now Morris finds herself in the midst of a veteran Fever team, which includes such all-stars as Tamika Catchings, Katie Douglas and Tammy Sutton-Brown. At the midpoint of the season, she’s averaging 10.9 minutes a game. She scored a career high 14 points against the Seattle Storm on June 25.
“I have some great role models,” Morris says. “I continue to work hard and be the best player I can be.
“[Coach] Lin Dunn demands the best out of you every day. She’s going to make you as great as you want to be. That’s always been my goal.”
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