1

Jesse Morgan

AMHERST - There were moments during his 2010-11 season where Jesse Morgan showed why the University of Massachusetts was so eager to get him eligible, most notably the 14 points he scored in the Minutemen's loss to Duquesne.

But overall his role was more of a cameo than even a guest star. Morgan was way behind after not being able to practice or even work out with the team during the first semester, due to the NCAA mandated year off as an academic nonqualifier.

In addition to getting back into game shape after 18 months off, he had to learn on the fly. Unlike most players, whose sit-out year runs from September to September, Morgan never got a preseason. Teammate Cady Lalanne, who sat out all of last year, has a chance to learn the system for a month before being thrown into preparation for actual games. Morgan, who enrolled at UMass in January of 2010, had to learn the offensive and defensive sets in midseason.

As he gets set to begin his sophomore season, the 6-foot-5 Philadelphia native is relishing having a preseason.

"It's a big help. I've got to take advantage of it. Learning the plays, learning the offense, getting into better shape. I'm more familiar with my teammates," Morgan said. "I'm building chemistry with my teammates. It'll be a big help."

Minutemen coach Derek Kellogg was eager to see Morgan when he'd had a chance to be fully caught up.

"This is huge for him. Coming off a year where he hadn't practiced or played coming in halfway through, I think he was a little disappointed with his productivity and his playing time," Kellogg said. "It's been fantastic. He's grown up. His body is in phenomenal shape. He has a chance to do some good things if he can continue at the pace he's been at."

While Morgan will be in the mix to play regularly on the wing, Kellogg has given him first crack at backup point guard duty. With Chaz Williams the only true point guard on the roster, the Minutemen need someone to play some minutes there and Morgan drew the assignment.

"He's learning the position. It's a work in progress," Kellogg said. "He'll split minutes between the one and the two. When I put him back at the two, his confidence at the two hadn't wavered. He looked really good. Chaz and him played well together."

Morgan was embracing the role.

"I'm looking forward to playing the point guard some, helping out as much as I can in any area I can. I'm taking on this challenge. It's fun," he said. "I'd do anything right now for the betterment of the team. Whatever I gotta do, I'll do to put the team in position to win."

Matt Vautour can be reached at mvautour@gazettenet.com. Follow UMass coverage on Twitter at twitter.com/GazetteUMass. Get UMass coverage delivered in your Facebook news feed at http://www.facebook.com/GazetteUMassCoverage.