This post has been updated.
For the third straight year, Matt Morgan is entering the NBA Draft, the senior guard announced on Twitter on Tuesday.
Thank you everyone! Can’t wait to see what’s next! 🤞🏽 pic.twitter.com/2rv5AHaKtt
— Matt Morgan (@TheRealMM10) April 2, 2019
After declaring for the draft and ultimately withdrawing and returning to Cornell after each of the last two seasons, Cornell’s all-time leading scorer wrote that he will be represented by Klutch Sports Group, an agency most known for representing LeBron James.
While he’s been in a similar position twice before, this time feels different for the star scorer. He pulled out of the draft in order to return to school in 2017 and 2018, but this time Morgan plans to see the process to its conclusion.
“It feels completely different because I know I don’t have that option to come back to school and fall back on it,” Morgan said in a phone interview. “It’s a different feeling knowing that I’m going into this full head of steam and embracing the process and not being able to go back to school gives me more incentive to just work harder so that I can get my name called [or be] able to play in the NBA, overseas, G League, any of those.”
Morgan declared for the draft following his sophomore year in order to signal his interest to NBA teams. He heard from three organizations before withdrawing. In 2018, he entered the draft again but withdrew to maintain his college eligibility and return to Ithaca.
The next step for Morgan — working with Klutch Sports, which represents NBA stars like LeBron James — is working to earn an invitation to the NBA Draft Combine, set for May 14-19 in Chicago. If he doesn’t earn one of the approximately 60 invitations, Morgan can still attend workouts with NBA teams.
Morgan said he is confident working with Klutch because it’s an “up-and-coming” agency that works with stars like Ben Simmons and Draymond Green.
The North Carolina native knew of Klutch primarily because of its association with James and said he was excited when the organization reached out. Morgan said he thinks Klutch will represent him well in part because of their focus on opportunities outside the NBA.
“They represent more than just [star players]; they have some overseas people, some people in the G League, so they have the experience in all facets of professional basketball,” Morgan told The Sun.
Added Morgan of his agency: “They always talk about how much of a family and brotherhood it is so being able to talk to [NBA players] and being able to take some knowledge from them about the game, I think it will give me an advantage over other people. And then the guys [that will be in] the class of 2019 with me, I think we can all learn and grow together.”
Morgan recorded 2,333 career points, the second-most in Ivy League history. The senior led the Ancient Eight in scoring in four consecutive seasons. He holds program records for points scored, scoring average, field goals made, field goals attempted and free throws made.
While Morgan didn’t play for a power-conference blue blood — “you can’t really say that I’m a lottery pick or anything, but anything’s possible,” he said — his time at Cornell served as good preparation to play basketball professionally.
“I think [playing at Cornell] prepared me very well, being able to have two different head coaches with two different styles of basketball…” Morgan said. “I got a little bit of everything and I think that should play a huge part in what I’m able to bring to the table. I would say Cornell was probably one of the best decisions that I’ve ever made.”
The NBA Draft will take place on June 20 in Brooklyn, New York.