Here’s what KU’s Morris twins think about coaching, not playing, for Jayhawks in TBT

Marcus Morris is listed on the TBT’s official website as head coach of the University of Kansas alumni basketball team in the upcoming single-elimination, 64-team tournament, which for KU starts Wednesday in Wichita.

It should come as no surprise, however, that Marcus plans on sharing game-day X’s and O’s strategy with his best friend and twin brother, Markieff Morris. The 33-year-old Morris twins were teammates at KU three seasons (2008-09, 09-10, 10-11). The Philadelphia natives have gone on to each play 12 years in the NBA ... and counting.

“Oh man, you could say Kieff is the head (coach) and I am the assistant. Or I’m the head (and) he is the assistant. It doesn’t matter. It’s all the same,” Marcus Morris said Thursday in a Zoom call with Markieff and media members to preview the KU team’s upcoming appearance in the TBT.

KU’s Mass Street TBT squad is slated to play We Are D3, a collection of former Division III all-stars, at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Koch Arena in Wichita. If KU wins it would face the winner of the Show Me Squad (Missouri alums)-Vegas Rebellion (UNLV) game (6 p.m., Wednesday) which would be contested at 3 p.m. Saturday, July 22, at Koch. The regional title game is 2 p.m. Sunday, July 23 at Koch.

“We both are going to do a great job coaching. If you want to make it (official), I could be the head coach. That’s good,” Marcus Morris added.

In an interesting twist, the Morris twins have actually coached in the TBT before.

“Four years ago we lost in the Elite Eight,” Marcus Morris revealed. The twins’ Team FOE (Philadelphia all-star team plus KU grads Tyshawn Taylor, Elijah Johnson, Mario Little) lost to Boeheim’s Army (Syracuse alums) in the 2017 Elite Eight.

“(We were) up 17 with nine minutes to go,” Marcus said.

Team FOE led by 25 with 12 minutes to play. Former KU players Little and Taylor, who will play for KU’s Mass Street TBT, were part of the group outscored 40-10 to close the game.

“We’ve done this before. We had a heartbreaking loss about four years ago. We still talk about that. We still think about that,” Markieff Morris said Thursday. “So we will try to get some revenge for that. Just getting back to Kansas and you never know, this (coaching) might be a career for us after we get done playing.”

Markieff, a 6-9, 245-pound power forward, who finished last season with the Dallas Mavericks (his eighth team in 12 seasons) is currently a free agent. He says he definitely expects to sign with a team for the upcoming season.

Marcus, a 6-8, 235, small forward, has a year remaining on a lucrative deal with the Los Angeles Clippers, his sixth NBA team.

“We just wanted to try something new,” Marcus Morris said of the twins coaching Mass Street in the tournament. “We’ve been around the game for so long and having two like minds we wanted to put it together and see how we do. There’s nothing better than coaching your alma mater. So being able to get guys to come back and play in the TBT and having this platform, we decided to just jump here in person, see how it goes.

“We are students of the game,” Marcus Morris added. “We have been blessed to be able to play for so many good head coaches. Mainly coach Self (Bill, KU). We were able to reach out to coach Self, get some pointers, to be able to touch on some stuff. ... We think it’ll be a very good experience again.”

Right now the KU roster consists of Taylor and Little, plus Marcus Garrett, Dedric Lawson, Keith Langford, Mitch Lightfoot, Thomas Robinson, Jamari Traylor, Kevin Young and Lagerald Vick. The roster continues to be subject to change.

“I think we’ll keep it as a surprise,” Markieff Morris said of the final roster. “Just know, man, the Jayhawks are coming loaded. Mass Street is coming loaded. It’s going to be great to see guys get back together and hopefully rack up some wins in Wichita.”

Markieff added of the experience so far: “We look at it (as) once you are a Jayhawk you’re always a Jayhawk. For the most part all of the guys that are playing now are professionals and are still active playing. It’s a simple game. We’re coming to win. We’re coming to play to win.”

Mass Street meet and greet for fans is Sunday in Lawrence

Mass Street TBT will hold an open practice and meet-and-greet session with fans from 12 p.m. until 2:30 p.m. Sunday at The Cutting Edge Performance Facility, 3705 Clinton Parkway, Lawrence, 66047 (back building of parking lot).

Autographs and pictures with players will be available. Cost is $50 per person with proceeds to go toward team expenses. To purchase tickets go to cuttingedgelawrence.com.