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NBA DRAFT

June 23, 2011

Marcus Morris

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY

MARCUS MORRIS (No. 14)
HOUSTON ROCKETS

Q. Marcus, your thoughts on being drafted by the Rockets.
MARCUS MORRIS: I just told my brother, these were the two places that we both wanted end up at; if it wasn't together, I wanted to be a Houston Rocket. From the first time I worked out, I got a great vibe from those guys and they told me how much they wanted me.

Q. Kevin McHale, coaching the Rockets, one of the greatest post players ever; how much are you looking forward to refining your game under his tutelage?
MARCUS MORRIS: A lot. From one of the best, to another post player, from Manning to Kevin McHale, two of the best. It's definitely amazing for me and amazing for my family, and I'm just ready.

Q. What does it mean to be able to share this experience with your brother, and what will it feel like to not play with him for the first time?
MARCUS MORRIS: Definitely going to be weird. Definitely going to be weird. But we're grown up. We're grown men. I just told him that I was proud of him. Told him that I was proud of him, and I'm happy that he got to go where he wanted to be. Probably meant more to me than it meant to him when he got drafted.
He's just my best friend, so I want him to do well.

Q. Any possible sibling rivalry? It meant he went one before you; does that mean --
MARCUS MORRIS: He was born before me, so it's nothing new. Hopefully I can help Houston get over the hump and make the playoffs next year.

Q. Can you talk about you guys going back-to-back?
MARCUS MORRIS: Thanks, Philadelphia guy, for asking me a question. It's just amazing. It's just amazing how things play out. Just thanking God. He really has a plan for us. It just plays out the exact way we wanted it to. It's just so amazing.

Q. Going to a Houston Rocket team that has a lot of offensive power, what do you bring to that team and how do you feel about playing with guys like Kevin Martin and Courtney Lee?
MARCUS MORRIS: I feel good about playing with those guys. I can feed off great players. I'm one of those guys that people didn't worry about in college, and it's just going to be to the fact where I'm just going to feed off of them and just add to their offense and just do other things, too.

Q. All week and through this whole process, you talked about even keel, no emotions. When did the emotions hit? Your brother broke down on his walk back here. Did they hit in the Green Room or have they hit yet?
MARCUS MORRIS: They definitely hit in the Green Room when Markieff got drafted. Like I said earlier, it meant a lot more to me than just me getting drafted and him getting drafted, because, I mean, we put in a lot of hard work, a lot of hard work. A lot of people don't know how hard it is to come out of Philadelphia. I'm happy and happy I'm here.

Q. Speaking of Philadelphia and a rich tradition, how are you looking to enhance that tradition, as well as talking about what Sonny Hill has meant to you.
MARCUS MORRIS: Philly is on our back right now. We are going to try to bring Philly back. I have another Philly teammate in Kyle, and it's funny, I texted Kyle right before the Draft and I said, "Tell them whenever you can, get me over there," and he said to me, "I'm trying, I'm trying," and it ended up in a good favor.
Philly is Philly. That's my hometown. It made me what I am today.

Q. You guys are both going West; are you looking forward to going head-to-head?
MARCUS MORRIS: No. But, I mean, we've got to. I told him, how many times we play each other, maybe three? Three or four? Four? So I'm going to see him a lot. I hope I don't have to guard him or he don't have to guard me, but basketball is basketball, and we are both competitive guys, so we are both going to get after it.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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