Arterio Morris mentor: "Kansas will get an electrifying guard"
The second big domino of the offseason fell for Bill Self and Kansas on Friday night. Following visits to Kansas and DePaul, Arterio Morris, the 6-foot-3, 190-pound guard from Dallas, Texas, verbally committed to Self and the Jayhawks.
Coming out of Kimball High School, Morris, the No. 15 ranked player in the 2022 class, and No. 2 ranked point guard, signed a National Letter-of-Intent with Texas. In 36 games this past season, Morris, a five-star prospect and McDonald’s All-American, averaged 4.7 points and 1.4 rebounds per game. In his lone season in Austin, Morris shot 41.4 percent from the field, 32.5 percent from behind the arc, and 78.6 percent from the free-throw line.
On December 21, Morris scored a career-high 25 points against Louisiana. In 17 minutes of action, he hit 9-of-11 field goals, 5-of-7 shots from behind the arc, and was perfect (2-of-2) from the free-throw line.
In all, Morris scored in double-figures six times (10, 11, 25, 12, 12, and 10) during his freshman season at Texas.
At the end of the season, Morris decided to look for a new school to call home and entered the transfer portal. Following visits to Kansas and DePaul, Morris announced his commitment to Self’s squad on Friday night.
Shortly thereafter, Morris’ mentor, Jonathan Rivera, talked to JayhawkSlant.com about the official visit to Kansas and what ultimately led Arterio to Lawrence.
“The visit to Kansas was great,” said Rivera. “Everything the coaching staff did for us was top-level. Even though the Allen Fieldhouse was empty, we felt a special type of energy being there. Learning about the story of the game and being able to add Arterio’s name to it, was an opportunity we couldn’t pass. Something that stood out the most was the genuine vibe with ALL of the coaching staff.”
Going through the recruiting process a second time, Morris was certainly not a stranger to Bill Self and his staff. Kansas heavily recruited Morris during his time at Kimball High School, but ultimately came up short.
However, the second time around, Kansas was able to land one of the nation's top prospects in the 2022 class.
“They said I would fit perfectly for what they are looking for,” said Arterio Morris. “Playing alongside Juan (Dajuan Harris) would make his game easier. I'm looking forward to becoming one of the best backcourts in the nation on both ends of the floor.”
The first time around, Morris considered scholarship offers from the likes of Texas (signed), Arkansas, Baylor, Florida, Georgia, Houston, Kansas, Memphis, Oregon, SMU, TCU, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, and UCLA.
Before his recruitment even had the opportunity to get out of control, Morris focused his attention on a select group of schools, took a couple of visits, and didn’t waste any time making a final decision. As previously mentioned, visits to Kansas and DePaul took place, and UFC was mentioned as well.
Morris, with Rivera leading the way, decided to act quickly to avoid any additional stress
“This process could be a stressful one, but we were prepared for it and knew what to expect,” said Morris. “We are blessed having real relationships with different people that are part of college basketball and have been of great support in this process. We feel extremely excited for this upcoming season. Honestly, can’t wait to begin to work with my teammates and coaching staff.”
Kansas, according to Rivera, is getting something special in Arterio Morris.
“Kansas will get an electrifying guard who will make winning, exciting plays and will play hard on both ends of the floor,” he said. “Also, a player who loves the game and hates to lose more than loves to win.”