Player Bio

Morris was born in 1989 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He is the son of Thomasine "Angel" Morris and has four brothers, including twin brother and fellow NBA veteran Marcus Morris. Markieff and Marcus both played college ball at Kansas and were drafted 13th and 14th, respectively, during the 2011 NBA Draft. Markieff is nicknamed "Keef", a moniker given to him by his late grandmother Shirley. Morris is a big fan of the Dallas Cowboys. His favorite charity to work with is Helping Hands For Single Moms. Follow Morris on Twitter (@Keefmorris) and Instagram (@keefmorris11). Morris joined his twin brother Marcus as a Kansas recruit for the 2008-09 season. Markieff was the more defensive-oriented twin, but the two combined with Thomas Robinson to give the Jayhawks a premier frontcourt trio for two seasons. As a freshman, Morris started seven games and provided 4.6 points and 4.4 rebounds in 15.6 minutes. In three NCAA Tournament games, he averaged 2.0 points and 5.0 rebounds. His role did not change significantly as a sophomore and the 6-foot-10 forward only started two games. He did provide 6.8 points and 5.3 rebounds as a key bench piece for a team that was knocked out of the NCAA Tournament by Ali Faroukmanesh and Northern Iowa. Morris ascended to the starting lineup as a junior and put up 13.6 points and 8.3 rebounds per game. He opened the season with three double-doubles in his first four games and had 15 double-doubles on the season. Kansas advanced to the Elite Eight and Morris had 24 points and 12 rebounds in a win over Illinois. He left the Jayhawks with one season of eligibility remaining when he declared for the draft. He was chosen 13th overall in the 2011 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns.