Maybe the most impressive stats for a medium sized big man I've seen since the Gary Elliot days and that was as a high school junior!
Has signed:
Andrew Morrissey a 6-8 power forward, averaged 15 points and 12.3 rebounds per game as a junior at Winnebago High School in Illinois.
At 6-8 238, that's a pretty solid body to throw around in the post.
Rockford Sports News
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PEORIA — How many times do you watch a team ride a guy’s back all the way to the big game — or to the big game that gets them to the big game — and then they overthink things, go away from what got them there, and fall hard?
That did NOT just happen to Winnebago during Friday’s Class 2A state semifinal showdown with Pinckneyville. Head coach Joe Murphy, in his 31st year as the Indians head coach, made sure of that.
“We’re not going to do anything new or different at this point,” Murphy said in the week leading up to the game. “It happens sometimes; you see it. But that won’t happen to us.”
Instead, Murphy and the Indians fed their 6-foot-9 center Andrew Morrissey all night, and he came through in Winnebago’s 67-63 victory.
It doesn’t always work out that way. How many times do you see a stud carry a team all the way down to the grand finale — or to the game that gets them to the grand finale — and then he gets timid, giving the ball up when he shouldn’t, and losing his edge at just the wrong time?
That did NOT just happen to Winnebago’s big man, Morrissey. He made sure of that.
“Coach told me coming in that I had to keep playing physical down low; I had to. So I did that,” said Morrissey who played 31 of the 32 minutes, and kept the pressure on the Panthers the whole way. “They kept giving me that baseline move, and when they give it to me, I’m going to take it.”
And he did. Over and over again.
Morrissey came into the game averaging 19.7 points and 14.7 rebounds per game on the season. He left the floor Saturday night after accumulating 29 points on 11-for-18 shooting from the field and 7 of his 8 from the line, and hauling in a Class 2A state-tournament record 16 rebounds.
At one stretch in the third quarter, as the Indians’ lead grew to 11, Morrissey went to his go-to baseline drive to the hoops three times in a four-minute span. He stood more than five inches taller than any Panther on the floor, and was unstoppable when he was aggressive.
And now, for a team that has come so close so many times, Winnebago is poised to finally get its title this time around. They’re hoping that the fifth time is the charm.
And the Indians know enough to continue to ride the back of their big man. Why change now?
So, the game plan for Saturday night’s title game?
“Andrew just did a great job in the post; a great job,” Murphy said. “When he’s doing that, you keep it going.”
Simple: Feed the beast all the way to the state championship. Andrew Morrissey, a 6-foot-9 senior center who has signed with Division I North Alabama, was named first-team All-State in Class 2A by The Associated Press. His twin brother will accompany him to Alabama.
www.journalstandard.com/sports/20180221/winnebagos-morrissey-brothers-twin-tall-talewww.maxpreps.com/athlete/andrew-morrissey/k2me59v2EeS-8KA2nzwbTA/default.htm