John Beilein releases heartfelt statement on death of former Michigan guard Darius Morris
After news broke of the death of former Michigan guard Darius Morris, his former coach John Beilein reacted on social media. Beilein took to X (formerly Twitter) to release a heartfelt statement on his former star point guard.
“Saddened to hear about the passing of former Wolverine Darius Morris,” Beilein wrote. “In 2010-11 Darius was our starting pt gd. He was a leader in that program-changing 21-win season that laid the foundation for Michigan’s next decade of success. RIP DMo and condolences to the Morris family.”
Morris starred for Michigan from 2009-11 and put together his best season as a sophomore. He averaged 15 points to go along with 4.0 rebounds and 6.7 assists as the Wolverines went 21-14 overall and 9-9 in Big Ten play for their second NCAA Tournament appearance under Beilein’s watch.
Morris passed away this week at age 33. No cause of death had been announced at the time of publication.
More on Darius Morris’ NBA journey
After his time at Michigan came to an end, Morris became a second-round draft pick, heading to the Los Angeles Lakers as the No. 41 overall pick in 2011. He spent four seasons in the NBA, playing for the Lakers, Clippers, Philadelphia 76ers, Memphis Grizzlies and Brooklyn Nets from 2011-15. After his NBA career ended he played basketball internationally until he retired in 2020.
Morris started his career in the NBA D-League – now known as the G-League – and made his debut in January 2012. He re-signed with the Lakers the following offseason, where he would go on to lead the 2012-13 Lakers Summer League team in scoring and assists. In one of the season’s opening games, he would record one of the best games of his Lakers career after filling in for an injured Steve Nash with 10 points, five rebounds, five assists and a steal in a 101-77 victory.
Morris joined the Philadelphia 76ers before the 2013 season but was waived by the end of November. He never saw a regular stint with another team during his NBA career. From there, 10-day contracts with the Grizzlies, he spent the 2014 offseason with the San Antonio Spurs Summer League squad and was signed and then waived by the Portland Trail Blazers before the season. He landed on the Brooklyn Nets in December of 2014 and spent the rest of the season there.
Barkley Truax contributed to this report.