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As every sports fan knows, college success isn’t always a guaranteed ticket to a professional career. For every Michael Jordan, there are plenty of Sam Bowies. Unfortunately, Gonzaga’s Adam Morrison turned out to be one of those draft busts.

After exploding onto the national stage in college, Morrison never developed into an NBA star and eventually withdrew from the basketball scene. So what happened to the former sharpshooter?

Adam Morrison’s rise to prominence at Gonzaga

As a teenager, Adam Morrison was diagnosed with type 1 Diabetes. While that reality could have derailed his career, the young forward wasn’t deterred. He would go on to star at Spokane High School, but didn’t stand out in the college recruiting class. At Gonzaga, however, everything would change.

Morrison had a solid, if unremarkable season as a freshman, averaging 11.4 points per outing. While his stats increased during the next campaign, the forward burst onto the national scene as a junior. Taking the court with a signature look of long hair and a thin mustache, Morrison took the country by storm; he averaged 28.1 points per game, carrying Gonzaga to a number three seed in the 2006 NCAA Tournament.

While the season had a heartbreaking ending—Gonzaga blew a 17-point lead against UCLA in the Sweet 16—Morrison still took home plenty of silverware. He shared the Oscar Robertson Trophy as the men’s player of the year with J.J. Redick, took home the national scoring title, and was a consensus first-team All-American.

An injury-shortened NBA career

After that brutal loss to UCLA, Adam Morrison entered the 2006 NBA draft. The Charlotte Bobcats selected him with the third-overall pick, hoping that he could help get the franchise on the right track.

Despite his college pedigree, the forward struggled to find his stride in the NBA. While he was a knock-down shooter with Gonzaga, he only shot .376 from the floor as a rookie; he finished the year averaging 11.8 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game.

Unfortunately, that would be Morrison’s most productive NBA season. He missed his entire sophomore year with a torn ACL; when he returned to action, he had lost a crucial step. Although the forward did win two NBA titles as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers, he only played a few minutes per night in Hollywood. Morrison also played a spent a brief spell in Europe and suited up in the NBA Summer League, but couldn’t find a full-time role.

Where is Adam Morrison today?

In 2016, a story broke that Adam Morrison was living in a remote compound capable of surviving an apocalypse. While there were some kernels of truth to the story, it’s not completely accurate.

Shortly after those quotes went viral, Bleacher Report‘s Yaron Weitzman headed to Spokane, Washington, to link up with Morrison. While the former Gonzaga star does own plenty of guns—he believes they’re necessary since he lives so far from the city—he leads a fairly normal life. Beyond being a dad, Morrison channels his competitiveness into golf and poker. He also serves as an assistant coach for his old high school program and calls Gonzaga games on the radio.

While his main focus is currently his daughters, the former NCAA star has no concrete ambitions beyond that. “I don’t really have a long-term plan,” he told Brian Bennett of The Athletic in 2018. “Just be alive, I guess.”

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Senior Writer, Programmer

Joe Kozlowski

Joe Kozlowski began his career as a sports journalist in 2013 and joined Sportscasting in 2019. He covers the NBA and soccer for Sportscasting, with specialties in legacy NBA players such as Michael Jordan and Premier League club Arsenal. Off the clock, he’s a Kansas City Chiefs fan and a hockey goalie.

Growing up loving Shaquille O’Neal and reading everything he could about the great big men throughout NBA history — likely because he was still tall enough, at least relative to his peers, to play center — he’s continued to love learning about and exploring the historical and story-based sides of the basketball archives.

As for Arsenal, Joe spent a year living in London and latched onto the local support of the club. He’s barely missed a match since, loving Arsene Wenger, enduring the Banter Era, and following along through rebuilds. The Premier League interest developed into a passionate following of the Champions League, Europe’s big five league, and international soccer as a whole when played at the highest level.

Regardless of the sport, Joe is captivated by the stories of athletes beyond the box scores and how they push the envelope — both in terms of what we think a human is capable of accomplishing and how they find new competitive tactics to win.