As a senior for Atlanta, Georgia's Landmark Christian High School, Morris nearly averaged a triple-double[1] at 23.0 ppg, 16.0 rpg and 8.0 bpg, which earned him McDonald's All-American Team status.

[2] Morris, along with All-Americans Joe Crawford and Rajon Rondo, gave Kentucky the top-rated recruiting class in the nation.

In his junior season Morris made further progress, averaging 16.1 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.1 blocks per game, earning first team All-SEC honors.

[4] Morris took advantage of his free agent status, and signed a two-year, $1.6 million contract with the New York Knicks on March 23, 2007, five days after Kentucky was eliminated from the NCAA tournament.

When UK's then head coach Tubby Smith resigned and took the same job with the Minnesota Golden Gophers, Kentucky's athletic director Mitch Barnhart asked Morris to defer making a decision about turning pro until after the administration found a new head coach to replace Smith, but he chose to sign with New York instead of waiting.