Morel has blossomed as a senior
tral High School, in the state tournament quarterfinals. It was a lopsided game in favor of the undefeated and undisputed state champion Rams but a great learning experience for Morel.
“I went into the game thinking, ‘I got nothing to lose. He's going to UConn next year and I'm a sophomore. I'm just going to try my best.' I might've had 10 points, got dunked on a couple times, but everyone was getting dunked on by him,” Morel said. “I learned a lot from that game. The biggest thing I learned was just not to back down from anybody, just play your hardest and something will come out of it.”
Morel wouldn't end up facing anyone like Clingan for the rest of his high school career. Morel, however, got the opportunity to play high-level basketball once again the following year, this time overseas.
After earning an All-ECC honorable mention selection his junior season, he took his talents to the Dominican Republic, where he played as a part of the U17 national team.
While he did improve as a basketball player because of the hard adjustment to the FIBA league rules, the most notable moments happened away from the game, while learning about the lives of his teammates.
“Having to adjust to FIBA rules was definitely the hardest thing for me in terms of basketball; it's a completely different way to play the game. But what will always stick with me is my experience with my teammates. I don't mean to offend them because they're my guys, but they don't really have anything except basketball. For the week and a half that I was there we had times with no power, having to shower with buckets of water. It was just a struggle sometimes.”
Playing against teams from other countries and competing at a national level was “different” and “a great time,” as Morel described it, but the humbling experience of sharing the locker room with his Dominican teammates molded him into the leader that he has become.
Waterford head coach Bill Bassett has been close with Morel throughout his athletic career. He remembers the first time meeting him, seeing the 14-year-old, 6-7 freshman walk through his math class. Now, four years later, Bassett has seen Morel's development first-hand, going from a wiry teen with little ambition to the student-athlete he is today.
“The first thing I could remember about him was literally reeling back at how tall he was. To think he's grown nearly four inches since then is insane,” Bassett said. “The biggest progression he's made is up here (mentally). His confidence is so much better than what it used to be, and he's not affected by the little things anymore. He's still growing, but he's become a great leader for this team.''
In his final season as a Lancer, Morel has helped the team to a 1012 record, 6-0 in ECC Division II and a league championship. To go with that, Morel also earned a spot on the Division II All-ECC first team.
Waterford, the No. 22 seed in the Division III state tournament, will play at No. 11 East Lyme in a firstround game today at 6 p.m.