The Cougar Guard Who Shot 37 Percent From NBA Range is Gone, and Nobody in Washington State Is Ready For It

Alright, listen up, because if you bleed crimson and gray, this one's gonna sting a bit. We're barely into the season, but the transfer portal is already hitting hard. Jerone Morton, our guy from Washington State, the sharpshooting guard we just watched ball out for the Cougars, is officially scheduled to visit Kentucky this Friday. Yeah, you read that right. Jacob Polacheck of KSR+ dropped the bomb, and it means the landscape just shifted for David Riley and the squad. This is a big move for Morton, a central Kentucky native, but it leaves a gaping hole here in the Pacific Northwest.

From Morehead to the Palouse: Morton's Journey

Let's rewind a sec and talk about who this kid is, because he’s had a journey. Morton, a George Rogers Clark high school star who snagged a Sweet 16 championship MVP in 2022, started his college career at Morehead State. As a freshman in 2023-24, he was finding his footing, averaging 2.2 points and 1.3 boards in 12.9 minutes, starting two games out of 34 appearances. He even dropped a season-high 10 points in just his second college game. But his sophomore year, 2024-25, was where he really blew up. He started 20 of 26 games, boosting his numbers to 10.4 points, 3.4 assists, 3.2 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game. His shooting splits jumped too, hitting 45.0 percent from the field, 37.7 percent from deep, and 72.0 percent from the line. The dude had 14 double-digit scoring games that year, even a couple of 20-point outings, including an 18-point, seven-assist, four-rebound effort in an overtime thriller against UT Martin. All that production, and he chose our Cougars as his first portal stop last o

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The Numbers Tell the Story: What WSU is Losing

When Jerone Morton arrived in Pullman for the 2025-26 season, he was a huge get for Coach David Riley. He started 29 of 32 games, putting up 7.8 points, 2.6 assists, and 1.9 rebounds in 24.9 minutes per outing. His shooting splits at WSU were a solid 43.8 percent from the field, an even better 38.8 percent from three-point land, and an impressive 82.0 percent from the charity stripe. Remember those two Gonzaga games? He had 16 points and 15 points in those matchups, plus a nine-point, nine-assist performance against St. Mary’s. And the advanced stats? They scream sharpshooter. Morton was in the 85th percentile among all guards for three-point shooting and the 88th percentile for his assist/turnover ratio at a stellar 2.22, per CBB Analytics. He wasn't a high usage guy, just 16.6 percent, but when the ball was in his hands, he made it count. He shot over 50 percent on his threes from the right side of the floor, and get this, he knocked down 37 percent of his 61 triples from NBA range. Plus, almost half his threes, 45.2 percent, were unassisted, showing he can create his own shot. Defensively, he was average in havoc and a solid steals/blocks guy for a guard, but the overall metrics weren’t as kind, with a DRAPM of -3.4 and Defensive Win Shares of 0.03, ranking in the 2nd and 20th percentile respectively. So, what's next? Morton's got one year of eligibility left, and while Kentucky is his first stop, DePaul, George Mason, and Texas A&M are also in the mix. For WSU, it's back to the drawing board to fill that scoring and shooting void. This is the portal in full effect, folks. We'll be watching closely to see where our former Cougar lands and what Coach Riley does next for the Cougs!

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.