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Sports

Loyola Freshman Proves 3-Point Marksman at Showdown

Jack Morrissey ends up at state shooting championship after mid-season call-up to the varsity squad.

Jack Morrissey had a standout season on the basketball court as a guard for Loyola Academy. Though his team exited early from the playoffs, he was the only freshman to qualify for the preliminary round of the state's 3-point shooting finals. 

Only two years ago, Morrissey was just a spectator at high school basketball games. He loved the atmosphere, the energy and the fans that came with the rivalry of games on Friday and Saturday nights.

So when Morrissey was called up to Loyola’s varsity team midway through his freshman year, he was as surprised as anyone. There he was playing valuable minutes in crunch time for a Loyola team that expected to compete for a conference championship. Just a year earlier, he had injured his knee playing middle school basketball.

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But in only his second game, Morrissey scored 9 points and helped lead the at home.

That game would prove to be a catalyst for the 5-foot-10 shooting guard and Morrissey showed he was one of the top freshmen in the North Shore.

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“It was an adjustment. At first, it was hard because they’re bigger, faster kids,” said Morrissey, who acknowledged being nervous when he first joined the varsity squad. “I just tried to think like I was playing with my older cousins.”

Morrissey’s basketball career started at an early age, according to his parents. His smooth jump shot is partially the product of childhood fun.

“At age 2 he would want to go outside early in the morning in the winter to shoot baskets on our patio,” said Lydia Morrissey, Jack’s mother. “And I’d have to shovel the patio in the morning and he’d shoot in the snow.”

Morrissey began playing organized basketball in second grade. With his continued development, he competed in AAU basketball for Full Package Athletics last summer.

Going into his first year at Loyola, Morrissey had no expectation of playing varsity basketball. The coaching staff thought differently. Still, they kept him off the varsity team to let him get acclimated to high school life and play a bit at the sophomore level.

But after a handful of injuries left the Ramblers' varsity team short-handed in early January, coach Tom Livatino decided to bring Morrissey up for a home game against St. Joseph’s. Morrissey played a mere 30 seconds that night, but had his breakout performance the next evening.

“After our Christmas tournament, we felt that he could help us and he obviously did,” Livatino said. “We played our best basketball in 2011, and he was one of the reasons.”

On the occasions when underclassmen--and especially freshmen--start getting more playing time, there’s always the question of how seniors will respond. For Morrissey and Loyola, it was a smooth transition.

“When I first came up, my teammates, they could’ve set me aside, but they were really supportive,” Morrissey said. “That was probably the most fun I’ve had playing with all the seniors, good teammates.”

Among the seniors, Morrissey mentioned senior reserve guard Sam Byrne as someone who served as a mentor during his three months with the varsity.

Even after the Ramblers’ season ended early, Morrissey wasn’t finished. After volunteering to take part in the Illinois High School Association's (IHSA) annual 3-point shooting contest for Loyola, Morrissey found himself in another unexpected journey--one that would take him to the home of Illinois’ basketball state championships.

Advancing through multiple rounds in which he faced some of the state’s top 3-point shooters, Morrissey became the only freshman to qualify for the preliminary round of the state finals held in Peoria’s Bradley Center. He was also the first player in Loyola’s history to advance that far.

“I didn’t know that I’d actually get to go downstate,” Morrissey said. “It just kept on going. It was fun while it lasted.”

While Morrissey’s season was a relative success, he realizes there’s still work to be done before the next season. His knee, which was injured in December 2009, isn’t yet to full strength and Morrissey still lacks the overall athleticism to be a star at the varsity level.

“Definitely I want to get stronger, basically in my legs and get my knee better because it’s still not where I want it to be,” he said.

Less than a month after Loyola’s season ended, the returning players will start with their off-season conditioning program. They will be putting in the work to make sure that this year’s early playoff exit doesn’t repeat itself.

“I think that the future for Jack and for our team is really bright,” Livatino said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do. He’s really special because he understands that concept.”

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