Player Of The Year – Terry McMorris

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong><em>Get 25% off your subscription by entering Knight25 in the coupon code area. Enjoy!</em></strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The dust has settled from the 2023 state tournaments and we're starting our postseason coverage throughout the rest of the month. This week, we're featuring some of the best of the best in Oklahoma. From the <strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/2023/03/coach-of-the-year-jeff-edmonson/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Coach Of The Year</a></strong> and <strong><a href="https://prephoops.com/2023/03/freshman-of-the-year-jalen-montonati/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Freshman Of The Year</a></strong> to this post, featuring the Player Of The Year. After a great season all across Oklahoma, there were several really good candidates for this award. Narrowing it down to just one player was not the easiest task. But when it came down to it, Douglass senior [player_tooltip player_id='981287' first='Terry' last='McMorris'] earned his spot as the state's best and most valuable player this season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>There's arguably no player in the state that had a bigger target on him this season than McMorris. The Douglass senior was already considered one of the top players in the state but moving from Del City to Douglass in late October made headlines all across the state. There were a lot of people that were vocal in the worst kind of way after that move happened and McMorris had to hear and see all of it. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>At Del City, McMorris was part of a Class 6A state championship team in 2021 during his sophomore year. In 2022, the Eagles fell short to Memorial in the 5A title game. And coming into the 2022-2023 season, Del City was one of the big favorites to win another title. That was because of the senior duo of McMorris and a teammate in Garrison who would become a McDonalds All American, among many other names in a loaded Del City lineup. The McMorris move immediately vaulted Douglass to the top of the list in a loaded Class 4A. The Eagles would miss their star wing but would still go on to capture a gold ball this month. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>With the Trojans, McMorris averaged 22 points per game and he took his game to another level in the state tournament and specifically in the state championship game. In that title game against Weatherford, it was very clear watching that McMorris was not going to be denied. The intensity and skill he was playing with that night puts him near the top of the list for favorite individual performances I witnessed in person this season. McMorris finished with 20 points and 14 rebounds as the Trojans raised another gold ball, a gold ball that McMorris could be seen holding on to tight for a long period following the trophy celebration.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>In early December, the Trojans would lose their third game of the season in the first round of the Joe Lawson Tournament in Norman. The 73-63 loss to Putnam City North would be the only loss on their record as they would finish with a 26-1 record, winning their last 24 games. Then you look at that state tournament run. They beat #5 OCS, #1 Kingfisher and #3 Weatherford in four nights to raise the gold ball. They also had a memorable tourney championship win over #6 Newcastle in late January.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We bring that up to talk about how deep and competitive Class 4A was this season. It's a pretty popular opinion across the state that Class 4A was the toughest class this season in Oklahoma. McMorris and the Trojans were the best of the best this season. And one question you always ask when you're talking about a player of the year or a most valuable player is how would the team do if that player was not on the team. There are some state champions where if you took their best player off, we believe they still lift the gold ball. We don't know if that's the case if you remove McMorris from Douglass, especially considering the gauntlet they had to go through.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Don't get us wrong, this was a very talented Douglass team and there's no doubt that they have one of the best coaches in the state. But there's also no doubt that McMorris was on an absolute mission this season. And that mission was very simple. Shut everyone up. It was clear that he was trying to make a statement all year and that was on full display in the state championship game. There was a lot of talking back in October and now the only talk should be that McMorris was the best player in Oklahoma this season. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->