Anthony Morrow was a star at Charlotte Latin, three times all-state and as a senior North Carolina's Mr. Basketball. He had planned to play for a state school, probably Charlotte or N.C. State. Then he took a final visit to Georgia Tech.
"It's only three hours away," says Morrow, who either knows a shortcut or has a fast car. "N.C. State is 2 1/2."
A junior, Morrow averages 9.6 points, almost 6 1/2 fewer than a season ago. He began slowly after suffering a stress fracture in his lower back and missed the first three weeks of practice.
He did score 18 last week, 12 on three-pointers, in a seven-point victory against North Carolina.
"My friends tell me I'm the only person they watched do well against Carolina," Morrow says.
A 6-5 guard-forward, Morrow plays an elegant game, collecting most of his points from the outside.
"My friends back in Charlotte are all Georgia Tech fans," he says Wednesday after the Yellow Jackets practice at the St. Pete Times Forum. "They all keep up with me and with our team and tell me what I can do better."
Even friends that grew up cheering for N.C. colleges tell Morrow they pull for Georgia Tech.
"Fans will lie," he says smiling.
His friends also tell him what every friend tells college and professional basketball players -- shoot more.
They have to choose between Georgia Tech and Wake Forest when the teams play Thursday.
Another inducement to making the three-hour drive to Charlotte is to eat the cooking of his mom, Angela. She looks at his 6-6, 215-pound frame and pumps him full of food.
"Anything I ask for," says Morrow. "Mostly a lot of pancakes and breakfast, chicken and stuff like that."
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