Speedy Morris: Difference between revisions

Speedy Morris
Biographical details
Born	April 26, 1942 (age 82); Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1984–1986	La Salle (women's)
1986–2001	La Salle (men's)
Head coaching record
Overall	238–203 (men's); 43–17 (women's)
Tournaments	Men's; 1–4 (NCAA Division I); 4–2 (NIT)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
	Men's; 3 MAAC regular season (1988–1990); 4 MAAC tournament (1988–1990, 1992)
Awards
	Men's; 2x MAAC Coach of the Year (1988, 1989)

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Latest revision as of 00:35, 14 October 2023

William "Speedy" Morris (born April 26, 1942) is an American basketball coach.

Born in Manayunk, Morris acquired the nickname "Speedy" because he was one of the slowest kids in his neighborhood. Morris started coaching at St. John the Baptist Catholic School's CYO varsity basketball team. He then went on to coach at Roman Catholic High School.^[1] Morris was then asked to be head coach of La Salle University's women's basketball team. He was head coach of the La Salle University men's team from 1986 to 2001, where he led the Explorers to four NCAA tournament appearances.

Morris's 238 wins are the most in school history. His best team was the 1989–90, led by Lionel Simmons and Doug Overton, which posted a 30–2 record and finished 12th in both major polls.

Morris was the first Division I coach to coach both the men's and women's program at the same school. While at La Salle, Morris coached future NBA players Simmons, Overton, Randy Woods, Tim Legler, and Rasual Butler. However, he was forced to resign in 2001 after eight straight losing seasons.

Soon afterward, Morris was hired at St. Joseph's Preparatory School in Philadelphia. The teams won Catholic League titles in 2002 and 2003. On February 7, 2011, he earned his 561st win in the Philadelphia Catholic League, the most of any coach in league history. On February 3, 2012, Morris earned his 900th win as Prep defeated Roman Catholic, a team he once coached. Morris is the first and only coach in Pennsylvania state history to win 300 games with two schools. He won his 1000th game on January 12, 2018. In December 2019, Morris announced that he would retire at the end of the season.^[1] He wanted to continue coaching, but his battle with Parkinson's disease had taken its toll on him.^[2]

Head coaching record

College men's

Statistics overview
Season	Team	Overall	Conference	Standing	Postseason
La Salle Explorers (Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference) (1986–1992)
1986–87	La Salle	20–13	10–4	2nd	NIT Runner-up
1987–88	La Salle	24–10	14–0	1st	NCAA Division I first round
1988–89	La Salle	26–6	13–1	1st	NCAA Division I first round
1989–90	La Salle	30–2	16–0	1st (South)	NCAA Division I second round
1990–91	La Salle	19–10	12–4	2nd	NIT first round
1991–92	La Salle	20–11	12–4	2nd	NCAA Division I first round
La Salle Explorers (Midwestern Collegiate Conference) (1992–1995)
1992–93	La Salle	14–13	9–5	3rd
1993–94	La Salle	11–16	4–6	5th
1994–95	La Salle	13–14	7–7	6th
La Salle Explorers (Atlantic 10 Conference) (1995–2001)
1995–96	La Salle	6–24	3–13	T–5th (West)
1996–97	La Salle	10–17	5–11	T–5th (West)
1997–98	La Salle	9–18	5–11	T–4th (West)
1998–99	La Salle	13–15	8–8	3rd (West)
1999–00	La Salle	11–17	5–11	5th (West)
2000–01	La Salle	12–17	5–11	8th
La Salle:		238–203	128–96
Total:		238–203
National champion Postseason invitational champion Conference regular season champion Conference regular season and conference tournament champion Division regular season champion Division regular season and conference tournament champion Conference tournament champion

References

^ ^a ^b Anastasia, Phil (December 9, 2019). "St. Joe's Prep basketball coach Speedy Morris, a Philly legend, to retire at end of season". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved February 18, 2020.
^ Skversky, Jeff (December 13, 2019). "Legendary coach 'Speedy' Morris to retire amid battle with Parkinson's disease". 6ABC. Retrieved February 18, 2020.

This biographical article relating to a United States basketball coach is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[anastasia-1] Anastasia, Phil (December 9, 2019). "St. Joe's Prep basketball coach Speedy Morris, a Philly legend, to retire at end of season". Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved February 18, 2020.

[2] Skversky, Jeff (December 13, 2019). "Legendary coach 'Speedy' Morris to retire amid battle with Parkinson's disease". 6ABC. Retrieved February 18, 2020.

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 6: / Line 6: @@
 | caption =
 | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1942|4|26}}
-| birth_place = [[Philadelphia|Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]]
+| birth_place = [[Philadelphia|Philadelphia, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
 | death_date =
 | death_place =
 | alma_mater =
-| coach_years1 = 1984–1984
+| coach_years1 = 1984–1986
 | coach_team1  = [[La Salle Explorers women's basketball|La Salle]] (women's)
 | coach_years2 = 1986–2001
@@ Line 17: / Line 17: @@
 | bowl_record =
 | tournament_record = Men's<br>1–4 ([[NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament|NCAA Division I]])<br>4–2 ([[National Invitation Tournament|NIT]])
-| championships = Men's<br>3 [[Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference|MAAC]] regular season (1988–1990)<br>4 [[MAAC men's basketball tournament|MAAC tournament]] (1988–1990, 1992)
+| championships = Men's<br>3 [[Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference|MAAC]] regular season (1988–1990)<br>4 [[MAAC men's basketball tournament|MAAC tournament]] ([[1988 MAAC men's basketball tournament|1988]]–[[1990 MAAC men's basketball tournament|1990]], [[1992 MAAC men's basketball tournament|1992]])
-| awards = Men's<br>2 [[Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference|MAAC]] Coach of the Year (1988, 1989)
+| awards = Men's<br>2x [[Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Coach of the Year|MAAC Coach of the Year]] (1988, 1989)
 | coaching_records =
 }}
@@ Line 26: / Line 26: @@
 Morris's 238 wins are the most in school history. His best team was the [[1989–90 La Salle Explorers men's basketball team|1989–90]], led by [[Lionel Simmons]] and [[Doug Overton]], which posted a 30–2 record and finished 12th in both major polls.
-during his coaching career, Morris became known for undressing himself during games as he would get angry at referees or his players, taking off first his sports coats, then sweaters and ties. In one game, Morris infamously accidentally ripped the back of his pants during a game while addressing his players on the bench. As Morris later quipped about the incident, "I was just happy I had clean underwear on."
 Morris was the first Division I coach to coach both the men's and women's program at the same school. While at La Salle, Morris coached future NBA players Simmons, Overton, [[Randy Woods]], [[Tim Legler]], and [[Rasual Butler]].  However, he was forced to resign in 2001 after eight straight losing seasons.
@@ Line 91: / Line 89: @@
  | championship = conference tournament
  | season       = [[1991–92 NCAA Division I men's basketball season|1991–92]]
- | name         = La Salle
+ | name         = [[1991–92 La Salle Explorers men's basketball team|La Salle]]
  | overall      = 20–11
  | conference   = 12–4