The 2011 NBA Draft was unpredictable as expected and that turned out to be a good thing for the Houston Rockets. With the 14th overall selection they were able to land Kansas forward Marcus Morris, one of the most polished and NBA-ready players in the draft.

Morris was ranked high on the Rocket’s draft board, but much like last year with Patrick Patterson, they believed that they were going to have to move up to get him. They tried to do so to no avail, only to have him fall right into their laps. Nothing could have made Morris happier.

“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.”

One of the biggest changes for Morris as he prepares for life in the NBA will be adjusting to playing without his brother, Markief. The two have spent their lives playing basketball together, but going forward Markief will be in Phoenix while Marcus plays in Houston.

“It’s definitely going to be weird,” Morris admitted. “Definitely going to be weird.  But we’re grown up.  We’re grown men.  I just told him that I was proud of him. I 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.”

Morris also admitted he’s not looking forward to playing against his brother for the first time in his career.

“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.”

{AUTHOR_BOX}Marcus is a versatile forward who hopes to move out onto the perimeter full time rather than playing solely at power forward, like he did in college. That’s something that the Rockets will likely be open to since they already have one of the league’s most underrated power forwards in Luis Scola and promising second-year forward Patrick Patterson on the roster. That’s not to mention Chuck Hayes, whom the Rockets would really like to play at the four despite his proficiency at playing center.

How much of a role Morris is able to command in Houston will likely hinge upon his ability to play the small forward position. Scouts have classified him as a four, and there are doubts about whether or not he’ll be able to play the NBA three. That said, he’s looking forward to the challenge, especially of playing off of great scorers like Kevin Martin and Scola.

“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.”

Like the rest of the 2011 draft class, Morris has his work cut out for him. He won’t have the benefit of summer league as the league begins what could be a long lock-out, nor will he be able to work out in and around the Rockets’ facilities. He’ll be learning on the fly, which could mean he won’t be an impact player for the Rockets for some time.