KU frosh to perform community service for shooting woman

LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) -- Kansas freshman forward Markieff Morris has agreed to perform 20 hours of community service for shooting a 47-year-old Wisconsin woman with plastic BBs in August in a university dorm courtyard.

The 18-year-old Philadelphia native had been charged with battery for the Aug. 16 incident in which campus police said shots were fired from a room in the Jayhawker Towers.

The woman suffered minor injuries when she was hit in the arm with a BB. Officers seized a 3-foot-long black Airsoft rifle and medium-sized plastic bag of BBs. Campus police said Morris admitted that he shot the Airsoft gun from his apartment window.

Kansas coach Bill Self says the agreement means Morris won't have to appear in court Friday.

"He has accepted a diversion to an infraction, and this agreement includes 20 hours of community service," Self said Wednesday at a news conference. "We've talked about this a lot, and I've told Markieff and our guys that obviously they have to make better decisions and be much wiser in their judgment."

Self said he and his staff should have done a better job educating players about campus and housing policies that forbid things like the Airsoft guns.

Both he and Morris said the diversion agreement brings the matter to a close.

"I've learned a lesson from this, and I apologize for any embarrassment this caused KU and the basketball program," Morris said in a prepared statement. "I'm going to do my community service so I can conclude this matter and concentrate on academics and the rest of the basketball season."

Morris and his twin brother, Marcus, are part of a recruiting class that was ranked No. 2 by Rivals.com. Marcus Morris ranked 29th nationally coming out of high school, and Markieff Morris was ranked 50th.

Kansas, last year's national champion, is off to a 7-1 start.

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