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HARTFORD — Rick Byrd, the longtime Belmont coach, began hearing rumors before the season began. Belmont had played Murray State, an Ohio Valley Conference rival, twice last season, and Byrd knew that Ja Morant, then a freshman, was a perfectly solid player.
But then Byrd and his staff started getting the word-of-mouth from preseason workouts, Byrd said Friday in a telephone interview. Morant was not just solid. He was the best player in the league, they heard. In fact, after the season, he would be an N.B.A. draft pick. Make that an N.B.A. lottery pick.