No more waiting for Morrow

Stay close or go far away for college? That was the question that had to be answered by Georgia big man Darius Morrow. The three-star center from Columbia High School knows the answer after making a couple official visits.

Morrow verbally committed to South Carolina a couple of days after he visited the SEC school.

"It was a location thing," Morrow, who also officially visited Fordham, said. "After thinking about it, I can have my family and friends and everyone I know come out there and watch me play. And if they can't they can just see me play. South Carolina is only three hours up the road, it's the SEC and they have a need for a player like me. Most of their big guys are long and lanky guys. They need someone that can go in there and bang around. That's my style that I play. I feel like I can bring some bulk to the table."

Morrow is on the upswing of his development and should be primed for a big senior year at Columbia, a program that does a tremendous job of featuring its post players. Morrow fine tuned his game over the last three years against several college bound players, most notably future SEC foe Jeremy Price, a Georgia freshman.

Morrow also noted that he is encouraged by Dave Odom's success with players at his position in the past and development with players that has gone on to the professional ranks.

"Coach Odom is going to help me a lot, especially with the strength and conditioning program. That should help me a lot. He said he's been able to help players like me become a huge presence on the court," Morrow said. "He's been able to do that with a lot of players at my position. I think he can help my jump hook and my power game and just becoming a better post player. He said the sky is the limit once I get back into better condition."

Time spent on USC's campus provided Morrow a chance to get to know the players was a major plus, he said.

"You don't want to go anywhere where you aren't liked. I liked everything about the guys. They are cool guys," Morrow said. "I was playing with them and I thought Devan Downey looked like an All-American out there. All of the guys there are good guys. I can see myself playing with them."

Morrow is the first player to commit to South Carolina in the class of 2008.