Describing Darius

If you've ever been involved in a relationship or studied a successful actor not named Bill Paxton, you've realized that mankind is capable of a wide and fantastic range of emotion.  Very seldom can a single event evoke as many of them at once as half a sentence from Darius Morris.

"I have decided to stay in the NBA Draft and pursue my dream of playing professional basketball."

Confusion.  With a looming NBA lockout, questions about his mid-range jump shot and left-handed proficiency, and modest if conflicted projections in the second round, there is ample reason to believe that Morris's long-term financial ambitions would be best served by another year as a Wolverine.

Love unrequited.  Morris had been building a bright future with Michigan.  Earlier this year, he professed emphatically that "we're all coming back," painting a portrait of a Morris-led 2012 squad.  Now his teammates and Michigan fans everywhere are left to play the role of the jilted lover as he chases an uncertain prospect and monetary gain.  Anger.  

Sadness.  His departure leaves a noticeable gap in the Michigan program.  A hole that will someday be plugged by recruit Trey Burke, but almost certainly not by next year.  An upcoming season of unchecked potential will now be relegated to the "under-construction" phase that has defined the program since Morris was in the second grade.  Despair.

Gratitude.  Darius bled maize and blue every day that he was with the program and elevated its prestige to renewed heights.  Hope.  Now another one of our own is poised to make the leap to professional basketball and few would decline to face the incredible opportunities that have blossomed before him.  Pride, envy.

Above all we see a kid with a wide smile and a dream; a lifelong goal that will become reality in just a few short weeks.  It couldn't happen to a more deserving person.  Joy.

With such a maelstrom of emotion competing in pivotal antagonism, there really is only one thing you can do.

Wish him the best of luck from the bottom of your heart.

Good luck, Darius.
Thank you for everything.