Morton Pouring It On : Hot-Shooting Titan Fills Up the Basket as Henderson’s Fill-In

Jerry Tarkanian always has a lot of eyes rolling toward the ceiling when he takes the podium at the annual Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. media day and relates another sob story about his team’s woes.

But last November, the Nevada Las Vegas coach elicited mostly quizzical looks with this statement about Cal State Fullerton: “They have three great perimeter players. No one on the West Coast can match them on the perimeter.”

Most of the 80-plus listeners could name two of the Titans Tarkanian had in mind--seniors Kevin Henderson and Kerry Boagni--but few had any idea of the third.

His name is Richard Morton. You won’t need to write it down. Just pick up the newspaper the day after a Fullerton basketball game and you’re sure to see it again. The 6-foot 3-inch sophomore, who started only two games as a freshman, is now a fixture in the Titan starting lineup.

Morton averaged seven points a game in PCAA action last season. This season, as the starting off guard, he has consistently worked his way to the No. 2 spot among Fullerton scorers, averaging 15.3 points per game.

And now, he’s No. 1 in the Titan offense and in Coach George McQuarn’s heart.

On Dec. 21, point guard Henderson severely sprained his right ankle and broke a bone in his foot when he landed on someone’s foot after a layup. He is still on crutches and probably will miss at least the next four games.

In the three games Henderson has missed, Morton has averaged 22.5 points. He was taking just 10 shots a game before Henderson was out, but has averaged 16 field goal attempts since.

“Coach told us that Kevin going down was an opportunity for each player to improve and take more responsibility, whatever their role was,” Morton said.

And Morton’s role is to score as often as possible.

“Richard is literally carrying us offensively at this point,” McQuarn said after Morton scored 32 in the Titans’ 85-80 overtime win over Cal State Long Beach Saturday. “After the first half, they made some adjustments--started facing him and denying him the ball--and we didn’t do much of a job getting it to him. But he still had an outstanding game.”

Morton’s consistency has been remarkable. He has scored 13 or more points in all but three games. He always seems to be in control, seldom commits an ill-advised foul or turnover, and his defensive play, while not spectacular, has improved steadily.

“He’s so tough, man,” Henderson said, with a noticeable touch of awe in his voice. “He’s silky smooth with a deadly, textbook jumper. And he’s got great poise for a young guy.

“With me being out of the lineup, he can look to be more assertive. This is really going to help his confidence. He doesn’t have to stand around and watch me shoot.”

Said McQuarn: “Richard glides. You get the impression he’s not playing that hard because of the way he glides. He’s got that quick release, and it doesn’t look like he’s getting up for the shot. It looks like he’s on his tiptoes. But he’s got a soft touch and it comes very naturally, very easy for him.”

Morton has hit 53% of his shots from the field this season. He’s also making 77% of his free throws.

“Me and my friends used to go to the schoolyard or get in a gym every day back in elementary and high school,” Morton said. “We used to fool around a lot and shoot a bunch of trick shots. Maybe all that falls over to a game situation when you have to twist and turn to get your shot off.”

After the Long Beach game, Morton was asked to clarify an incident that occurred with 2 1/2 minutes left in regulation. The 49ers’ Andre Purry fouled Morton, both went down in a heap and then Purry jumped up and had to be restrained from attacking Morton.

“I don’t know why he came after me,” Morton said. “I have no idea what the reason was.”

Boagni, dressing at a nearby locker, looked up and smiled.

“I can give you a reason,” he said. “In fact, I can give you 32 reasons.”

Morton is not unaccustomed to being a marked man. He has been frustrating defenders for a long time. At Balboa High School in San Francisco, he averaged 23 points a game as a sophomore, 27 as a junior and 30 as a senior.

But Morton is quick to point out that “once you get to this level, just about everybody was a high school All-American who averaged 30 points a game.”

Still, Morton looks as if he could be more than just another good shooter off the playgrounds of Northern California. He has a picture-perfect jump shot, body control Elgin Baylor would appreciate and a certain relaxed poise uncommon in 19-year-old sophomores.

“He’s an outstanding shooter with the potential to become a great all-around player,” said Ed Goorjian, the former Loyola Marymount coach who is an assistant at Fullerton. “He can get his shot off in traffic. He’s capable of scoring 30-plus at anytime, you can see that in practice.

“Rich is a gym rat. He loves to play. And I don’t know a coach who doesn’t like to coach a kid like that.”

There was a time last season when McQuarn, who admits he “likes to coach a kid who loves the game,” almost lost the pleasure of helping Morton reach his full potential.

On Dec. 6, 1984, Bryant Standley, a transfer from Laney Junior College in Oakland, quit the team. Three days later, Morton’s closest friend on the team, Patrick Clardy, a freshman from Oakland’s McClymonds High School, also left.

Morton, feeling a little homesick and confused, missed a practice and didn’t play in the next three games. But he says he never really considered quitting.

“I had been playing with Pat since the ninth grade,” Morton said. “We played against his high school team a lot, and we were roommates at a bunch of those Superstars camps. We were really close. Pat was unhappy because he wasn’t playing much and he was homesick.

“I felt the same way a little, but I felt like I should stay and that I could play. I didn’t want to embarrass myself and let my family down. Anyway, I was happy with Southern California and the school, and I knew that if I played the way Coach wanted me to, I’d get my chance. And if I got my chance, I knew I could play well.”

Morton said he decided on Fullerton--over Texas, Cal, Arizona State, Washington and St. Mary’s--because he wanted to come to Southern California and on the recommendation of neighbor and former Titan Ricky Mixon, another pure shooter who had a lot of success at Fullerton.

Morton realized in a hurry that Division 1 basketball was a different ballgame from the one he had been playing.

“When I first got here, everybody was talking about how hard (preseason) conditioning would be,” Morton recalled. “I thought to myself, ‘How hard can it really be?’

“Then, pretty soon I was out there on the floor and, man, I was wishing I was home in bed.”

Morton managed to adjust and, by the time the PCAA Tournament rolled around, he was a contributing sixth man.

Morton is clearly earning his starting role these days and is improving his defensive play.

“His freshman year is way behind him,” McQuarn said. “We always knew he would be a good player, and he keeps getting better and better and better.

“Richard is playing with a lot of confidence right now. I think what happens is that confidence and poise are by-products of success. He believes in himself and he’s got the rhythm.”

And Morton is planning to keep in step when Henderson returns and long after.