The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/465847
WHERE ARE THEY NOW? stressed education, and he waited pa- tiently for the right opportunity, by- passing an offer from Bowling Green in the fall of his senior year for greater opportunities. "I knew there were teams that were coming to watch me, but the offers weren't there yet," he said. "I was patient. I was confident I would have a good year, and as the season progressed, more schools became involved, and it actually got a little overwhelming. My parents helped me narrow my list, and I took visits to the University of Denver, Michigan, and then I went to the University of Maine. "I liked Denver. It was a good school but I didn't feel their hockey program was quite there. My trip to Michigan was next, and everything about that trip blew me away. I stayed with David Oli- ver, he was a B.C., kid. Hung out with Steve Shields, Brian Wiseman and Mike Stone. They had two hockey games that weekend, and I also got to see the Fab Five play, which as this Canadian kid, from a small town, and you experience this environment with passion and en- ergy, and it's like: 'Holy cow, how can it get any better than this?'" It couldn't. Not for Morrison, who pledged to the Maize and Blue. Michigan coaches were confident he would be a good player for them someday, but they had reservations he'd one day be the best ever. "When I first saw him play a game and caught up with him after the game, I thought, 'Geez, this kid is so, not puny, but so skinny, he's going to get killed,'" Berenson relayed. "But he had broken Paul Kariya's points record in the B.C. Junior League and had proven he could play at that level. "There was no question once he got on the ice for us, it was like, 'Wow.' He was special, right from his first practice." Morrison was the 1994 CCHA Rookie of the Year after recording 48 points. In each of his next three seasons, he led the Maize and Blue in scoring with 76, 72 and 88 points, respectively, garnering first-team All- America honors each campaign and CCHA Player of the Year distinction in 1996 and 1997. He became the pro- gram's first Hobey Baker Award win- ner as a senior, his 57 assists the top tally ever notched by a Wolverine, and his 88 points second all time. "It's an incredible honor, no ques- tion, especially to see what Hobey Baker stood for and the values behind that trophy," Morrison said. "It's a tre- mendous honor, but as I have men- tioned before, unless you're in a situ- ation where you're on a good team and surrounded by great players, indi- vidual awards don't happen. "It's a situation where I was in the right place at the right time, being sur- rounded by great players, and making the most of our opportunities." The player he became in a winged helmet was forged thanks to an un- welcome moment he shared with teammates on March 27, 1994, follow- ing a 5-4 overtime loss to CCHA ri- val Lake Superior State in the NCAA West Regional. "You have this vision of making this long run to the finals, and then boom, it's over," Morrison said. "As a young