When C.J. Lee and David Merritt graduated a season ago, a large hole opened up at point guard. While Stu Douglass and Laval Lucas-Perry had played at the point, neither was a true point guard. Morris has led teams his whole life and saw a chance for immediate playing time on a Top 25 team.

“This is kind of what I wanted,” Morris said. “There were other schools where I could play behind another point guard for two years, but that was the biggest thing on my list, seeing an opportunity to play right away.

“That was my biggest thing.”

Morris started at the point for Michigan last Friday against Wayne State and may do so again Saturday in the season-opener at home against Northern Michigan (7 p.m., Big Ten Network).

Really, though, it’s an extension of what he’s always done, leading for both Belmont Shore and at Windward (Calif.) High School.

“He’s played point guard his entire life,” John Beilein said. “So he’s very well trained at that.”

Morris has the attributes needed in a freshman point guard. He wants to learn. He wants to defend. He has gained the trust of his teammates and is becoming familiar with Beilein’s intricate offensive and defensive systems.

Most of all, Morris isn’t likely to shudder when he’s playing on national television or in front of thousands of fans. He played at the same high school as rapper Percy ‘Lil’ Romeo’ Miller, the son of Master P. Also around at Windward and a teammate of Morris’ was Malcolm Washington, the son of Hollywood star Denzel Washington.

“I’m a playmaker,” Darius Morris said. “And that’s what this team needs. They have great talent, people who can shoot it and great scorers like Peedi (DeShawn Sims) and Manny (Harris), you need someone to get them the ball.

“Me being a playmaker, making plays on defense and offense, I feel like that will get me on the floor.”

Still, there is a concern of too much hype and pressure being put on Morris early. The 6-foot-4, 180-pound guard is likely to mistakes. Beilein compared Morris’ situation coming in as a freshman point guard to starting as a true freshman quarterback - the results of which Michigan’s football team has seen this year with another true freshman from California, Tate Forcier.

But it’s part of the growing process, and if Morris is at least as successful on the court as Forcier was early on the field, it’ll bode well for Michigan.

Plus, Darius Morris has a talented group around him, including All-Big Ten first teamer Manny Harris, senior DeShawn Sims and sophomore Zack Novak.

“I don’t think we need to put that kind of pressure on him,” Novak said. “We have capable point guards and especially coming in as a freshman, there’s going to be bumps in the road, I think. But we all have full, 100 percent confidence in him playing with him in practice. He really has a good feel for the game, and he’s very talented player.

“So we’re going to help him along here and get him up to speed as quickly as possible, but I don’t think, it’s not all 100 percent on Darius, the team goes as he goes. You can’t do that to a freshman.”

Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein.