May 11, 2004

LAS VEGAS - Ricky Morgan, a 6-foot sophomore guard from Schoolcraft College in Livonia, Mich., has signed a national letter of intent to enroll at UNLV and play basketball for the Runnin' Rebels this fall, head coach Lon Kruger announced Tuesday.

At Schoolcraft this past season, Morgan averaged 8.9 points, 6.1 assists and 2.6 rebounds per game in leading the school to a 27-4 record, the league title and the Michigan state junior college championship.

"Ricky brings experience and toughness, which will benefit our program," Kruger said. "He has won at every stop in his career and he will bring that winning attitude to our Runnin' Rebel program."

Morgan, from Pontiac, Mich., attended Iowa State in 2001-02, playing for the Cyclones as a true freshman. At ISU, Morgan tallied a team-high 91 assists, tying for third on the ISU freshman assist chart. He played in 29 games, started 11, and averaged 3.1 apg, 2.6 ppg and 1.9 rpg.

Morgan was enrolled at ISU in the fall of 2002 before transferring to Paris (Texas) Junior College where he spent one semester. He then transferred to Schoolcraft for the 2003-04 year.

Morgan attended Northern High School in Detroit and capped off his senior season by leading his team to the Class A (largest schools) state championship, finishing the season with a 23-4 record. He was a three-year starter and compiled a 62-12 mark as the starting point guard and a 78-20 mark over his four years at NHS.

Morgan earned Detroit Free Press Michigan Dream Team honors as a senior and was named the captain of the Detroit Free Press all-metro squad, averaging 15.0 ppg and 9.8 apg. During his junior season, he averaged 10.5 ppg, 9.9 apg and 4.2 steals per game.

Morgan is the second signing of the spring period for UNLV and joins Dustin Villepigue and Wilbur Williams (signed in November) as incoming players for the Runnin' Rebels.