Ja Morant will be enshrined into Murray State HOF
MURRAY, KY — Grizzlies star guard Ja Morant is heading into the Murray State Hall of Fame.
Morant was the classic unknown who struck stardom between 2017-19 with the Racers’ men’s basketball program, accomplishing more in two seasons than many players could in an entire college career.
“When you think of the all-time greats that have played basketball at Murray State, Ja Morant will always be one of the first names to come up,” Director of Athletics Nico Yantko said. “What Ja was able to do in his two years in Murray, and now in the NBA, has been simply incredible and his style of play and production has brought an invaluable amount of exposure to our University and our entire department. We knew that Ja was a no-doubt first-ballot Hall of Famer, and we are thrilled that we will finally have the opportunity to forever enshrine one of the best to ever represent the Racers into our Hall of Fame.”
“Congratulations to Ja on the honor of becoming a Murray State Hall of Famer,” said Murray State Head Coach Steve Prohm. “In his short time with the Racers, Ja was electric and he brought all of Racer Nation along with him. I watched him realize his potential quickly and his performances speak for themselves and it puts him in a rare class of player at Murray State.”
A native of Dalzell, South Carolina, Morant played in 65 games for the Racers and they won 56, which included a pair of Ohio Valley Conference regular season and tournament championships and two NCAA Tournament appearances.
In the summer of 2018, between his freshman and sophomore seasons with Coach Matt McMahon, Morant took a leap in both form and notice. By the time the 2018-19 season rolled around, Racer Nation had a good idea of what he was capable of. Part of the hype came after Morant had a successful showing at the Chris Paul Camp and thrilled MSU fans when jumped over four teammates for a dunk at Racer Mania.
In the 2018-19 season, Morant was the OVC Player of the Year and the first consensus All-America selection in Murray State history. His triple-double against Marquette was just the ninth in NCAA Tournament history with 17 points, 16 assists and 11 rebounds.
Morant led the nation with 10.0 assists per game and became the first player since assists became official in 1983-84 to average 20 points and 10 assists per game.
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