Morsell leads Marquette into March Madness

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- With a new coach and the young roster that comes with it, Marquette University heads into March Madness with very little NCAA tournament experience. That's where Darryl Morsell comes in.

The Maryland transfer not only played, but started in the last two tournaments, winning a game in each.

"Coach Smart is always hard on me about being a leader. He wants me to be a leader on the court, off the court, in the bathroom. It doesn't matter, wherever we're at he wants me to use my voice."

Vocal leadership doesn’t come easy for Darryl. A true lead by example guy, he tells me coach Shaka Smart pushed him to get outside his comfort zone to teach his younger teammates.

"Especially when things get tough. Or when I experience something that they might not have experienced before. I think I've grown a lot as a leader."

His role on the court has changed too. At Maryland the graduate student was a steady presence. In Milwaukee he's been asked to be more of a scorer, averaging a career high 13-and-a-half points per game.

"With more expected from me, it's been fun. Having this group of guys always giving me confidence, my coaches always giving me confidence has probably been the biggest difference."

The Golden Eagles have a tough road out of the first weekend playing North Carolina and potentially the defending champion Baylor Bears.

No problem for Darryl, who said they like being underdogs and proving everyone wrong.