Windward Was Led by Him to the California Division V State Title His Senior Year
Darius Morris, a former high school basketball player for the Windward School in Mar Vista who went on to play for both the Los Angeles Lakers and Clippers, has passed away at the age of 33.
“We are heartbroken by the passing of Darius Morris.” the Lakers posted on X (formerly Twitter). A cause of his passing has not been disclosed at the time of this writing. TMZ reported that his body was found in the Los Angeles area.
During his time in high school, Morris was invited to All-star basketball camps hosted by LeBron James and Steve Nash, was twice selected as a first-team All-State player in California and participated in the Academic All-American Classic. Windward was led by Morris to the California Division V state title his senior year. In the championship game, he posted a game-high 25 points, eight rebounds and four assists. ESPN, Rivals.com and Scout.com all ranked Morris among their top 20 best high school basketball point guards in the U.S.
In the second round of the 2011 NBA draft, the Lakers selected Morris from the University of Michigan Wolverines. He would go on to play for several other NBA teams including the Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers, Memphis Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets. He averaged 3.3 points in 132 career games (17 starts), according to ESPN. Morris also played professionally in China and France.
“Saddened to hear about the passing of former Wolverine Darius Morris. In 2010-2011 Darius was our starting pt gd. He was a leader in that program changing 21 win season that laid the foundation for Michigan’s next decade of success.” former Michigan Head Coach John Beilein stated on X.
