Speedy Morris

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

Speedy Morris
Biographical details
Born (1942-04-26) April 26, 1942
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1984–1986La Salle (women's)
1986–2001La Salle (men's)
Head coaching record
Overall238–203 (men's)
43–17 (women's)
TournamentsMen'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)

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 20–1310–42ndNIT Runner-up
1987–88 La Salle 24–1014–01stNCAA Division I first round
1988–89 La Salle 26–613–11stNCAA Division I first round
1989–90 La Salle 30–216–01st (South)NCAA Division I second round
1990–91 La Salle 19–1012–42ndNIT first round
1991–92 La Salle 20–1112–42ndNCAA Division I first round
La Salle Explorers (Midwestern Collegiate Conference) (1992–1995)
1992–93 La Salle 14–139–53rd
1993–94 La Salle 11–164–65th
1994–95 La Salle 13–147–76th
La Salle Explorers (Atlantic 10 Conference) (1995–2001)
1995–96 La Salle 6–243–13T–5th (West)
1996–97 La Salle 10–175–11T–5th (West)
1997–98 La Salle 9–185–11T–4th (West)
1998–99 La Salle 13–158–83rd (West)
1999–00 La Salle 11–175–115th (West)
2000–01 La Salle 12–175–118th
La Salle: 238–203128–96
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
  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.


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