Matthew Garnell Morgan (born November 7, 1997) is an American professional basketball player for

Virtus Bologna Virtus Pallacanestro Bologna, known for sponsorship reasons as Virtus Segafredo Bologna, is an Italian professional basketball club based in Bologna, Emilia-Romagna. The club was founded in 1929, which makes it the oldest club in Italy and one ...

of the

Lega Basket Serie A The Lega Basket Serie A (LBA) is a professional men's club (sport), club basketball list of basketball leagues, league that has been organised in Italy since 1920. Serie A is organised by Lega Basket, which is regulated by the Italian Basketball ...

(LBA) and the

EuroLeague The EuroLeague is a European men's professional basketball club competition. The league is widely recognised as the top-tier and the most prestigious men's basketball league in Europe. The league consists of 20 teams, of which 16 are given lon ...

. He played college basketball for

Cornell Cornell University is a private Ivy League research university based in Ithaca, New York, United States. The university was co-founded by American philanthropist Ezra Cornell and historian and educator Andrew Dickson White in 1865. Since ...

High school career

Morgan attended Cox Mill High School, joining the varsity team as a sophomore. He scored 760 points during his junior season. His jersey was retired on senior night as he helped his team claim a share of the South Piedmont championship. Morgan graduated as the school's all-time leading scorer though his records were since broken by

Wendell Moore Jr. Wendell Horace Moore Jr. ( ; born September 18, 2001) is an American professional basketball player for Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Greensboro Swarm of the NBA G League. He playe ...

He received scant collegiate recruiting attention, eventually signing with

College career

As a freshman, Morgan compiled six

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference of eight Private university, private Research university, research universities in the Northeastern United States. It participates in the National Collegia ...

rookie of the week honors and was named league player of the week after scoring a school freshman-record 33 points in a win against

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

. He earned Second Team All-Ivy League honors, averaging 18.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.0 assists and 1.4 steals per game. As a sophomore, Morgan led the Ivy League in scoring, averaging 18.1 points to go with 4.6 rebounds, 2.1 assists and 0.8 steals per game. He was named to the Second Team All-Ivy League. Morgan averaged 22.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game as a junior, earning First Team All-Ivy League honors. Following the season, he declared for the

2018 NBA draft The 2018 NBA Draft was held on June 21, 2018, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible players, including internationa ...

but ultimately returned to school. On January 9, 2019, Morgan scored a career-high 38 points including a school-record nine 3-pointers in an 86–74 win over

Towson Towson () is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community and a census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 59,533 in the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. It is t ...

. He also became the second Cornell player to surpass 2,000 points after Ryan Wittman and set a school record for career free throws with 438 in the victory. As a senior, Morgan averaged 22.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game while shooting 51 percent from the floor and 43 percent from 3-point range. He was named to the First Team All-Ivy League and was selected to play in the Reese's College All-Star Game. Morgan finished his career at Cornell with 2,333 points, becoming the Ivy League's second all-time leading scorer behind

Bill Bradley William Warren Bradley (born July 28, 1943) is an American politician and former professional basketball player. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was a United States Senate, United States senator from New ...

Professional career

After going undrafted in the

2019 NBA draft The 2019 NBA draft was held on June 20, 2019. It took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Brooklyn, New York. National Basketball Association (NBA) teams took turns selecting amateur United States college basketball players and other eligible p ...

, Morgan signed with the

Toronto Raptors The Toronto Raptors are a Canadian professional basketball team based in Toronto. The Raptors compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NBA), Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference (NBA), E ...

for summer league play. He averaged 4.3 points, two rebounds and one assist per game in the summer league. He signed with the Raptors on October 17, 2019, only to be waived on October 20. Morgan joined the

Raptors 905 The Raptors 905 are a Canadian professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Mississauga, and are affiliated with the Toronto Raptors. Raptors 905 began play in the 2015–16 season and play their home games at Paramount Fine Foods ...

of the

NBA G League The NBA G League, or simply the G League, is a professional basketball league in North America that serves as the Minor league#Basketball, developmental league of the National Basketball Association (NBA). The league comprises 31 teams; as of ...

and missed the team's second game with an unspecified illness or injury. In the third game of the season, he scored 17 points on 4-of-9 shooting from 3-point range in a loss to the

Maine Red Claws The Maine Celtics are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in Portland, Maine, and are affiliated with the Boston Celtics. The Maine Celtics play their home games at the Portland Expo Building. The Boston Celtics pu ...

, while also contributing five rebounds and five assists. On January 12, 2020, Morgan scored a career-high 21 points in a 123–119 loss to the

College Park Skyhawks The College Park Skyhawks are an American professional basketball team in the NBA G League based in College Park, Georgia, and are affiliated with the Atlanta Hawks. The Skyhawks play their home games at Gateway Center Arena at College Park af ...

. Morgan averaged 8.3 points, 2.1 rebounds and 1.9 assists per game in his rookie season for Raptors 905. The following season, he averaged 8.7 points, 1.0 rebound and 2.5 assists per game. On August 20, 2021, Morgan signed with

Konyaspor Konyaspor Kulübü (, Konya Sports Club), commonly referred to as Konyaspor, is a Turkish professional football club based in Konya, one of the largest cities in central Anatolia. Due to sponsorship agreements, the club is also officially known ...

of the

Turkish Basketball First League Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

. On June 21, 2022, he signed with

Le Mans Le Mans (; ) is a Communes of France, city in Northwestern France on the Sarthe (river), Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the Provinces of France, province of Maine (province), Maine, it is now the capital of ...

of the French Pro A. On July 20, 2023, Morgan signed with London Lions of the

British Basketball League The British Basketball League (BBL) was a men's professional basketball sports league, league in Great Britain. Since its establishment in 1987 the BBL represented the highest level of basketball competition within the United Kingdom. The orga ...

(BBL). In the following season, Morgan signed with

of the Italian

(LBA) and the

and Virtus ended the EuroLeague at the 17th place, following a disappointing regular season. After arriving first in the national championship season, Virtus eliminated Venezia 3–2 and their arch-rival Milan 3–1, reaching their fifth finals in a row. They then defeated Brescia 3–0, claiming the Italian championship title for the 17th time.La Virtus Bologna ha vinto la Serie A di basket
Il Post

Personal life

Morgan's father Lamont Morgan played basketball at Georgetown in the 1980s. He has 3 Brothers. The middle brother, Malcolm, is currently playing at Emory & Henry University. The two youngest, Myles and Marcus Morgan are twins and are currently playing college basketball for Roanoke College.

References

External links

Cornell Big Red bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Morgan, Matt 1997 births Living people American expatriate basketball people in Canada American expatriate basketball people in France American expatriate basketball people in Turkey American expatriate basketball people in the United Kingdom American men's basketball players Basketball players from North Carolina Cornell Big Red men's basketball players Le Mans Sarthe Basket players London Lions (basketball) players Point guards Raptors 905 players Sportspeople from Concord, North Carolina 21st-century American sportsmen Konyaspor Basketbol players