Morris ended all speculation about her future basketball plans by verbally committing to play for the University of Utah on Sunday evening.
“I called Coach (Anthony) Levrets after church,” Morris said. “He asked me if I had some good news for him and I said yes, I’m coming to Utah. He was really excited.”
NCAA rules prohibit college coaches from talking about incoming recruits until they receive a signed national letter of intent. Morris will sign her letter during the official signing period in November.
“I talked to (Utah assistant coach) Lana (Sitterud) Sunday night and all I can say is they’re really excited,” Virgin Valley head coach Chimane Creer said. “With this decision out of the way, she can get on with her senior year and have a good time.”
UNLV, Portland and Pepperdine were also interested in Morris, especially the Lady Rebels.
“I called UNLV last week and told them I wasn’t coming to Las Vegas,” Morris said. “It was hard to tell them no. I’m just relieved this is over. Now, I can start working on my schooling.”
Being in a familiar place was a big factor in Morris’ decision to choose Utah.
“I’ve played in Salt Lake the last two years,” Morris said. “I felt like playing at Utah is where I need to be. I just feel more comfortable at Utah.”
Another factor is beginning in 2011, the Lady Utes will leave the Mountain West Conference in which they won seven of the past 11 league championships. They will move to the prestigious PAC-12 Conference where, instead of playing UNLV, BYU, Colorado State and Air Force, Morris and the Lady Utes will go up against powerhouse programs like Stanford, Oregon, USC, UCLA and California.
“It’ll will be way cool to play in the PAC-12 for four years,” Morris said. “It will be a big challenge.”
Creer is looking forward to watching Morris at the next level.
“I think this will be good for Rachel to play at Utah and play in the PAC-12,” Creer said. “She’s had a good summer and played well in tournaments in Oregon, Indiana and San Diego. She’s starting to feel more comfortable on the floor.”
Morris averaged 11.6 points, 9.7 rebounds, 5.2 blocks, 2.2 assists and 1.5 steals per game as a junior last season in leading Virgin Valley to the Southern 3-A Conference championship and a berth in the state 3-A semifinals. Morris has also obliterated the Nevada prep record for blocked shots in a season and career with her senior year still to come.
By committing to Utah, Morris becomes the third Lady Bulldog player to play for a Division I program joining Lori Brotherson (UNLV) and Mindy Stuart (Southern Utah).
“With Rachel committing to Utah, the younger kids can look to that and see what is available to them,” Creer said. “It also shows you don’t need to be at a big school to get a chance to play at the next level.”
Morris will be the second player from a small school in southern Nevada to play at Utah in the last five years.
Kalee Whipple, who played four years for the Lady Utes and was named to the All-Mountain West Conference team for three years, played at Pahranagat Valley High School in Alamo a class 1-A school.
Virgin Valley’s Rachel Morris, right, scores over a Davis High School defender during a recent team camp at VVHS. The 6-4 center verbally committed to play Division I basketball at the University of Utah of the PAC-12 Conference beginning with the 2011-12 school year. (Desert Valley Times Archives)
