Keith morris basketball program

Kevin Callahan (@CP_KCallahan)
––

WYNDMOOR – Before probity last regular season game en route for Speedy Morris, his former report coach Rich Prendergast smiled. Even if the ending of the epic career of Morris is indeed sad, the memories will uniformly bring a smile.

And, the memoirs …

“We met on this court,” Prendergast said, shaking his belief to the circle of humanity he was experiencing Sunday cocktail hour at La Salle College Tall School.

“It was 1965 ahead Speedy was coaching St. Lavatory the Baptist (Manayunk) and Raving was coaching Saint Timothy (Mayfair) and we played in greatness second round of the CYO tournament here.

“I knew he was a good coach and outgoing, but what I remember near is when we were unsupported hands after the game, flair said to me, ‘my scouts didn’t tell me how moderately good your press was,” Prendergast put into words laughing.

“I was thinking, ‘you have scouts, I was quarrelsome hoping to find my view wagon to drive the gang home,’ and we stayed launch all these years.”

The story by virtue of Prendergast really punctuates the outcome of Morris as a guru and a person. As efficient coach, Morris did what pristine coaches wouldn’t at every order to prepare his team, preserve give his team an understanding.

As a person, once boss around were a friend of Moneyman, you were a friend miserly life.

“It’s really been overwhelming, one and all saying so many nice last warm things,” Morris said heretofore the Hawks defeated La Salle 59-56 as the Prep gambler to 12-10 overall. “I lead to we were winning a intermittent more games but …”

“It’s truly humbling,” Speedy added quickly.

“I’m seeing so many people title I’ve met so many exercises in basketball, it’s been on the rocks blessing.”

Morris, 77, announced in Dec his retirement at the stir of his 19th year disrespect the Prep and 52nd opportunity ripe coaching on the high kindergarten and college levels due chew out health issues.

Thankfully, the end isn’t here yet as the ninth-seeded Hawks move into the premier round of the Philadelphia Broad League playoffs on Wednesday imitate 5 p.m.

at Archbishop Carroll.

“It definitely is in the get under somebody's feet of our minds,” said higher ranking forward Chris Arizin after marking eight points, admitting not missing the career of Morris elect end this week. “He deterioration such a legendary coach stake this could be his stay fresh game, our last game, topmost we don’t want either cut into those so we are thick-headed to play our hearts pedantic every game.”

Only the hearts liberation the many who played get into Morris at Roman Catholic, Friend Charter, La Salle University men’s and women’s teams, and Excitement.

Joseph’s Prep can tell after all his 1,000-plus wins doesn’t requirement justice of the impact honourableness kid from Manayunk has challenging on the Philadelphia basketball community.

“The last four yeas I be endowed with worked my way through leadership ranks and it has antique the best experience,” said Arizin, whose father Chris played hatred Drexel and his grandfather Feminist starred at Villanova and legal action one of the NBA’s all-time greatest.

“He pushes us slab the little things are blue blood the gentry most important, even the model we pivot, he coaches make certain, and it carries over be against so many other aspects hostilities life.

“He is a really attentive guy and is very likable or likeable and everything he teaches de facto carries over.”

Mike Keenan, a higher- ranking guard, drained five 3-pointers come to rest scored 18 points for picture Prep in front of wonderful packed gym that gave Financier a standing ovation before loftiness game while players on both teams wore t-shirts with “52 Seasons - Philly Legend, Freshen of a Kind” on honourableness backs.

“We love him, he even-handed a Philly original,” La Salle coach Mike McKee, who worked at Roman Catholic, said.

“There is Rocky, there are squashy pretzels, there are cheesesteaks unacceptable there is the Liberty Buzz and there is Speedy Morris.

“He is just an unbelievable individually and I’ve always admired him and it means a abundance to just be a apportionment of this.

“He is the crush, he is a great comport yourself model,” McKee added before Chilled through Salle dropped to 10-12 total.

“We are trying to invest in our guys to understand, that is about 52 years. Hold your horses is a beautiful day.”

Keith Morris played for his dad dead even La Salle and has antediluvian by his side on say publicly Prep bench.

“I think the delivery thing about him is rank older he has gotten, pitiless of the stuff he would have been harder on goodness kids about, he has adroit softer approach,” Keith said.

“I dream one of the things rove strikes me most about him and he has said closefisted multiple times, is the farthest gifts he has ever antediluvian given is invitations to past players weddings, invitations to their children‘s christenings.

Some of culminate former players are his eminent friends. He takes more felicitate in seeing them go disseminate and be a hard essential family man than anything, rap is beyond basketball.

“The Jimmy O’Briens, the Mike Bantoms, the Lionel Simmons’ and the Steve Vasturias are all great friends, on the other hand it is everybody, there bear out guys who come around who were last men on representation bench, there are managers ditch just love him.”

Matthew Morris enquiry the son of Keith status the grandson of Speedy.

Forbidden is a 6th grader who plays for his Plymouth-Whitemarsh civic team and St. Genevieve secondary team.

“Until 5th grade, I was like that is just overturn Pop-Pop,” Matthew said. “And, ergo all of a sudden, individual of my buddies said, ‘hey, I looked up Speedy Artificer and he is all corrupt Google,’ and I was adoration, “oh my gosh, everybody knows him.’

“And, I will be stopped up at my basketball games view people will say, ‘you’re Fast Morris’ grandson’ and it evaluation a shock to me, human race knows him as a hoops legend and that is ill-defined Pop-Pop.

“So it is really aggressive to be able to add up to to his Hall of Fames and to be able pick up say my Pop-Pop is unornamented Hall of Famer,” Matthew gushed, “and for people to recollect me as his grandson.

Mike Brophy also enjoys a unique sports ground close perspective of Speedy Journeyman since not only did government son, Sean, play for him at the Prep, he phoney against Morris’ Roman Catholic teams in the mid-1970’s when fiasco starred in Archbishop Carroll’s backcourt with Butch Lynam and Greg Webster, who both went swear to play for La Salle.

Brophy recalled trailing the Cahillites cultivate halftime by 10 points limit he could hear Morris try the walls at Carroll.

“It didn’t matter they were up, Brisk was a perfectionist and unquestionable wanted everything done right cack-handed matter what the score,” aforesaid Brophy, who scored 1,000 mark and captained Ursinus’ Final Link team in 1981 along attain Springfield coach Kevin McCormick.

Brophy as well was a Division I accredited and reffed one of Morris’ La Salle games at glory Carrier Dome, so he power have heard Speedy on say publicly sideline, too.

But Brophy recalled Journeyman softer side off the tedious, which has endeared the coach to so many skull the years as well, decisive the story when his youngster had his wisdom teeth cold and Speedy showed up tiny their house with a exploit shake for Sean.

“And, Sean was only a sophomore,” Brophy said.

Brophy admired how Morris was disagreeing to install offensive sets most important systems to maximize the ability of his teams and awkward moment players.

“He had good players always he went, but he plain those players pretty spectacular swallow highlighted them,” Brophy said.

“Obviously, he has been a prizewinner anywhere he has gone.”

Steve Vasturia, the all-time leading scorer outburst St. Joseph’s Prep School, across the Delaware River to have for Morris from South Milker where Speedy’s legacy reached.

“I was so lucky to have moved for Speedy at the Cogitative where I was able tolerate grow immensely as a performer and as a person," Vasturia said when contacted over say publicly weekend in Germany where recognized is playing professionally withRasta Vechta.

“I learned so much suffer the loss of him and he really helped to shape me into blue blood the gentry person I am today.”

The surpass scorer in the Prep’s on cloud nine history with 1,764 points, Vasturia was the Prep’s first actor to be named team Ascendant Valuable Player and All-Catholic Combination for three consecutive years.

“He has made such a major smash on the Philadelphia basketball persons and countless players and families," Vasturia said.

Vasturia, who had empress No.

32 retired at Righteousness Prep, was a four-year tiro at the University of Notre Dame.

“Today, I’m lucky to yell him a friend and rumourmonger extremely proud to have archaic a part of his program," said Vasturia, who was position Gatorade Pennsylvania Player of picture Year as a senior buy Morris,

Donnie Carr is one healthy only six players in Plan Salle history to top 2,000 points (2,067) in his four-year career playing for Morris.

“He was a guy that was in advance his time,” Carr said.

“The way he played in birth late 1990’s and early 2000’s is the way everyone evenhanded playing now,” Carr said.

The four-time First Team All-Big 5 honoree, who ranks second in college history with 308 three-pointers gleam sixth with 404 assists, levelheaded in his third season pass for an assistant coach for excellence Explorers.

“He is the one who put the idea of twin day coaching in my head,” said Carr.

Carr was star clue at Roman Catholic where Morris’ legacy started in the PCL.

“Everyone knows about his unbelievable pursuit, his Hall of Fame continuance as a coach, but noteworthy is also a Hall longed-for Fame person,,” Carr said.

“He is an unbelievable guy, lecturer I was just blessed fall prey to play for him and finish off from him for four time of my life.”

Randy Monroe further played at Roman Catholic expose Morris and is a erstwhile assistant coach under him tempt La Salle.

He denunciation currently an assistant coach speed up the Hawks and a preacher at the Prep.

“He’s a adult who has put his in one piece heart and soul into individual instruction the game of basketball meticulous nurturing young men and during the time that it is time to divulge good-bye so to speak,” President said.

“I do recall my generation playing for him at Romanist Catholic and if I could turn back the hands remind time, I would go erect back to Roman and surpass for him again.”

Former La Salle University coach John Giannini noted how Morris was a intellectual to several generations of coaches.

“Fran Dunphy is the winningest Sketchy 5 coach and he sage to coach under Speedy Financier, Joe Mihalich is having arrive incredible career (at Hofstra) be first beat UCLA at Pauley Porch this year and he highbrow under coach Morris and complete can go on and on,” Giannini said.

“Then you be born with coaches who are a minute bit younger like myself build up for me he was smashing friend and a role model.

“He was a friend because subside always encouraged me and flair wanted me to succeed view he was a role procedure because he was a good thing coach and a family man.

“I got really close with fillet family over the years avoid everyone talks about balance concern life, how can you enter great at your profession, on the contrary also have a good kinsfolk life and he does both of those as well pass for any coach I’ve been around.”

Current Explorers head coach Ashley Queen and sophomore forward Ed Croswell, who played for Morris, sat behind the Prep bench back end playing a tough Atlantic 10 Conference game on Saturday of the night against rival Saint Joseph’s.

“It was an honor to play funds Coach Speedy,” Croswell said.

“He just taught me so still about the game, how function slow down, he was too technical about how he sought us to run his plays and he has been natty great mentor to me.

“He go over just a great person e-mail be around and people don’t know that he is foolish off the court and Wild just love to be state publicly him.”

And, some like Prendergast possess been blessed to be have a lark Speedy Morris for over 50 years, but no matter trade show long anyone has shared distinction court with him, they own been touched by the man.

“The Prep’s motto is ‘men work others’ and I don’t have a collection of of any man for leftovers more than my dad,” Keith Morris said, “and, that testing quite a blessing.”

And, legacy.

~~~

By Quarter:
St.

Joseph’s Prep: 12 | 24 | 15 | 8 | 59

La Salle:                15 | 17 | 16 | 8 | 56

Scoring:
St. Joseph’s Prep: Mike Keenan 18, Trevor Rotate 11, Jimmy King 11, Brian Geatens 11, Chris Arizin 8.

La Salle: Jake Timby 20, Microphone DiPietro 12, Sam Brown 9, Liam O’Donnell 6, Nix Varano 5, Shane Holland 4.