Ryan Murken

Your Prep Sports

IOWA CITY – When you are as busy 52 weeks out of the year as Marcus Morgan a little time off might seem like nice a break.

For the West High four-sport standout two weeks of down time to rest a foot injury was anything but enjoyable.

“It seemed to take forever, it really did,” Morgan said. “Not doing anything for two weeks is really different for me. It was going by really slow.”

There is a reason two weeks with minimal activity seemed more like two years for the mutli-talented junior.

Morgan is one of the top quarterbacks in the state in the fall and one of the state’s top baseball players in the summer.

He’s also a state track meet qualifier.

Going from sport to sport each season rarely gives Morgan a chance for a rest.

When a foot sprain that originated during football season required Morgan to rest up in a walking boot for two weeks as basketball practice ramped up the inactivity got old in a hurry.

“I was getting really agitated,” Morgan said. “I was getting sick of the boot but my foot is healing up nicely.”

When Morgan returned to the court healthy on Tuesday he showed no signs of rust.
The 6-foot-2 guard hit four 3-pointers and scored a game-high 21 points to lead West High to a 43-28 win over West Des Moines Dowling in the season opener.

“It was just exciting to have a game and get those nerves out right away,” Morgan said. “To get that first win then you try to settling in after that.”

The injury kept Morgan out of practice for most of the preseason but didn’t keep him totally inactive.

He couldn’t shoot while wearing his protective boot but Morgan tried to ride the exercise bike as much as possible to stay in shape.

“I was in the boot riding the bike,” Morgan said. “I was going to try to get over and swim but wasn’t able to.”

Morgan scored 17 of his game-high 21 points in the first half of Tuesday’s opener, making all four of his field goal attempts, including three 3-pointers while scoring 14 of West High’s 17 second-quarter points.  

“Marcus was really, really good in the first half,” West High coach Steve Bergman said. “He’s not in very good shape, but he stepped up and kept us in there in the first half.”

After football season ended Morgan was in the gym getting shots up.

That work proved to be beneficial after the injury as Morgan went 4-of-7 from 3-point range to go with six rebounds and two assists in the opener.

“I had shot a lot before I went in the boot and I got some shots up after I got out,” Morgan said. “I’ve put in the time, I’ve got a lot of shots up so I was feeling pretty confident when I got out there.”

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