How a South Florida native and a bag of Doritos led to the discovery of Ja Morant -

Being a college basketball coach can often lead to unhealthy eating habits. Their hectic travel schedules create many days filled with chicken tenders, nights of wings and ranch dressing and mornings of leftover pizza.

Three years ago, now-Iowa State assistant James Kane was living up to the coaching lifestyle when he was on a recruiting trip in Spartanburg, S.C. At the time, he was working at Murray State and was in attendance to see a player the Racers were already coveting.

It was a stop at the concession stand to grab a bag of chips that relegated those thoughts to the background and led to him discovering guard Ja Morant, the expected No. 2 pick in this year’s NBA Draft.

“Cool Ranch flavor,” Kane said, with a smile. “They were the best Doritos of my life.”

Kane, a South Florida native, was at a summer travel tournament to scout signee Tevin Brown. He left the gym securing the most celebrated player in school history.

All signs are pointing toward the Memphis Grizzlies selecting Morant behind Zion Williamson, the odds-on top pick. After averaging 24.5 points, 10.0 assists and 5.7 rebounds, Morant declared for the draft following his sophomore season. But a few years ago, he was well off the radar as a high schooler until Kane stumbled upon him.

The chance meeting occurred after he finished watching a game and needed to grab food. He picked up the chips and a soda but then heard basketballs bouncing in the back at the auxiliary gym. It was reserved for players who did not earn a roster spot in the tournament. A group of six players, including Morant, were playing 3-on-3.

“I saw my buddy (tournament director) Anthony Ricks,” said Kane, who attended Northeast High School in Broward County and graduated from the University of Florida. “We talked for about five minutes. Within five minutes, there were these six kids playing and, obviously, one caught my eye. I asked Anthony, ‘Who is this kid?’ He goes, ‘I don’t know, but his dad is in the stands.'”

Tee Morant was sitting in the bleachers watching his son. Later that night, he answered a phone call from Kane so they could discuss specifics. Kane was shocked at how Morant went undetected.

“Right then and there, I searched him on YouTube, Twitter, and there was nothing,” Kane said. “Obviously, that was a good thing for us.”

At the time, Morant was what Kane termed as a “zero-star” recruit. His only offers were from South Carolina State, UNC-Asheville and Maryland Eastern Shore. That changed after Morant was invited to play in the tournament the following day. He was matched against Brown, the player Kane was there to evaluate. Kane extended his stay another day so he could watch.

Brown’s team won, and he scored 33 points. Still, Kane fawned over Morant’s 29-point performance.

“Right after the game, I called my boss (Murray State coach Matt McMahon) and said, ‘This guy is a pro.'”

McMahon, who was in Georgia recruiting at the time, dropped everything he was doing and made the drive. After watching him once, Morant became the Racers’ No. 1 recruit.

As a sophomore at Murray State, Morant averaged 24.5 points, 10.0 assists and 5.7 rebounds per game in helping lead the Racers to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. (David Butler II / USA Today)

The next step was keeping Morant a secret. His highlight reel at the time consisted of videos made by his father, who wore a GoPro on his head while watching games. One day, Tee asked Kane if he could help transfer the videos to a laptop so they could watch on their television.

Kane has an extensive background in video coordinating because of his days as an intern with the Charlotte Hornets, so it was an easy task.

But he refused.

“He was like he didn’t know how to do it,” Tee said. “He said, ‘I’ll go home and do some research and figure out how to play it on the TV.’ He didn’t tell me until a few days ago why he did that.”

The reason was simple. Kane did not want to risk the video finding its way to the Web. Keeping bigger schools from hearing about Morant was the best way to make sure he signed with Murray State.

“When his dad asked me if I could put the video on the laptop, I was like, ‘Yeah, sure, no problem,'” Kane said, laughing. “In the back of my head, I’m thinking, ‘There’s no way I’m going to put this on the internet so everyone can see it.'”

Morant would go on to sign with Murray State.

His largely unknown skills were quickly revealed once Morant arrived on campus. He made the All-Ohio Valley Conference first-team as a freshman before leading the Racers to the second round of the NCAA Tournament this spring. He recorded a triple-double in the opener against Marquette, becoming the first player to do so in the tournament since Draymond Green in 2012.

The only thing missing from Morant’s ascent was Kane. Before Morant enrolled, Kane accepted a position with Dayton. He could not pass up the opportunity to reunite with coach Anthony Grant, who hired him as a graduate assistant at Virginia Commonwealth in 2007. They met at Florida when Kane was a practice player for the Gators’ women’s basketball team, where he learned under coach Carolyn Peck.

Even though Kane never coached Morant, they have remained close.

“He would watch games when I was at Dayton, and he’d watch Iowa State games,” Kane said. “Win or lose, he’d send me a text: ‘Congrats, coach.’ If we lost the game, he’d be like, ‘Keep your head up.’ That’s just the type of kid Ja is.”

Ja told The Athletic that staying in touch was easy because he often thinks back to when he met Kane at that tournament. Their meeting was the beginning of his basketball rise.

“Coach Kane is family,” Ja said. “He’s believed in me since Day 1 when he saw me in that auxiliary gym. He helped me fall in love with Murray State, made me feel wanted. Not only did he gain my trust, he gained my family’s trust, and I will always stay in contact. That’s my guy.”

Kane with Ja’s younger sister, Teniya. (Courtesy of James Kane)

The relationship is so strong that Kane will be among the dozens of Ja’s friends and family in New York for the NBA Draft on June 20. Tee thought of Kane when his son hosted a party last weekend to celebrate his endorsement deal with JBL. The whole family remains in contact with Kane, whether it’s Ja’s mother, Jamie, or his younger sister, Teniya, also a budding basketball standout.

“We had 120-something people at the party, and it was a family-type atmosphere, and that’s how it was at Murray as far as the family and camaraderie,” Tee said. “We keep in touch with James because of the fact he was the one who pretty much orchestrated him going to Murray. Of course, we were sad he never got to coach Ja, but at the same time, he put it in place. Even though he was at Dayton, he was still checking on Ja and checking on us, and we were doing the same. We maintained that level of contact and still do to this day.”

For Kane, he is just fortunate to be part of the story. He considers the Morants part of his extended family.

“I’m just happy for him,” Kane said. “Seeing it from a distance and going to the draft in New York in two weeks with the family, and just seeing them live out their dream is a great feeling personally for myself because that’s why you’re coaching. That’s why you do what you do. It’s not about me. It’s about players. I just love turning on the TV and seeing him, just seeing him get the exposure.”

(Top photo of Kane and Morant: Courtesy of James Kane)

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