Caging Morrison

Thanks to Gonzaga’s ambitious national schedule and the West Coast Conference’s agreement to become a part of ESPN’s Big Monday telecasts, Xavier University has had ample opportunity this winter to watch the Bulldogs’ irrepressible Adam Morrison play.

What the Musketeers haven’t had, however, is a chance to listen to Morrison play.

But that will change Thursday afternoon, when Xavier takes on the Zags and their chatty junior forward in the first round of the NCAA tournament at the Huntsman Center in Salt Lake City.

Morrison, a leading player-of-the-year candidate and the country’s top Division I scorer, is a notorious and incessant trash-talker, who knows how to get into an opponent’s head with his blunt on-court comments.

In the semifinals of the WCC tournament, which played out recently at the Bulldogs’ McCarthey Athletic Center, Morrison seemed in constant communication with San Diego’s Corey Belser, all while hanging 24 points on the league’s defensive player of the year.

After the game, which GU won 96-92 in overtime, Belser told a Seattle Times reporter that Morrison had, during one of their many face-to-face encounters, said something like, “You’re a role player. Did your family come to watch you play your last game?”

When Morrison was questioned about his running dialogue with Belser, he pleaded the fifth, calling the verbal exchanges “just a little gamesmanship” and adding they should stay on the court and not be taken personally.

Not that any of that matters to Xavier’s Justin Cage, who will shoulder most of the defensive responsibilities for the 6-foot-8 Morrison in Thursday’s NCAA opener.

“I’ve played against people who talk, and stuff like that, before,” said the Musketeer’s 6-6 junior stopper and two-time member of the Atlantic-10 Conference’s all-defensive team. “I’m not really going to get into it with him.

“I know a lot of other players who might let that get to them. But with me, you can talk as much as you want. It’s not going to bother me.”

Such stoicism could prove to be a real plus as Cage and his teammates try to deal with the length, basketball savvy and versatility that make Morrison such a tough guard.

“You have to chuckle when you see what Morrison does,” Xavier coach Sean Miller said. “Offensively, you can make the case that there may have been no one in the modern era who has been more efficient as a perimeter player.”

Morrison, who has moved up to No. 4 on GU’s career scoring list with 1,794 points, is averaging 28.4 per game and is a full point-per-game ahead of Duke’s J.J. Redick in the D-I scoring race. He is shooting 49.8 percent (280 of 562) from the field, 43.7 percent (69 of 158) from 3-point range and 77.5 percent (224-289) from the foul line.

“And then you look at the way he passes the ball,” Miller added. “He’s really a special, special player. Everybody has had their hands full with him, and we’re no different.”

Still, Miller is convinced he has a player, in Cage, who is as long, savvy and versatile on defense as Morrison is on offense.

“Regardless of who we play, he guards the other team’s best player,” Miller said of Cage, noting that his defensive assignments have ranged from LaSalle’s 6-8 power forward Steven Smith to Temple’s 6-6 point guard Mardy Collins.

But Miller said it would be unfair to measure whatever kind of numbers Morrison puts up on Thursday strictly against Cage.

“I don’t know if one player should get the credit or discredit for guarding him,” Miller explained. “It’s going to have to be a complete, total team effort. Just playing him man-to-man, I don’t know if that’s the answer, either. I don’t know if there is one.”

Cage admits that dealing with Morrison will present one of the biggest defensive challenges he has faced. Part of the reason is the “I’m-better-than-you” attitude that he brings every time he steps on the floor.

“I’ve seen him quite a bit, and he’s a very, very good player,” Cage said. “He shoots the ball really well, and he knows how to play the game. But the thing I like most about him is his toughness and competitive mind-set.

“Yeah, he’s a very good player. But I think that attitude he has helps out a lot.”

Chances are, Morrison can’t wait to tell Cage all about it – in person.