Dwane Morrison

Dwane Morrison is a retired American college basketball player and coach. He is best known as the coach of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets from 1973 to 1981. He is also the son of former Major League pitcher Johnny "Jughandle" Morrison.[1]

Dwane Morrison
Morrison from the 1964 Garnet & Black.
Playing career
1948–1950Campbellsville
1950–1952South Carolina
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1963–1964South Carolina (assistant)
1964South Carolina
1964–1970Georgia Tech (assistant)
1970–1973Mercer
1973–1981Georgia Tech
Head coaching record
Overall143–152
Accomplishments and honors
Awards
Metro Conference Coach of the Year (1977)

College

Morrison, a 6'3 guard from Owensboro, Kentucky, played basketball for two years at Campbellsville Junior College (now Campbellsville University) before transferring to the University of South Carolina.[2] In his senior year of 1951–52, Morrison led the Gamecocks with a 19.8 scoring average and was selected second team All-Southern Conference.[3]

Coach

South Carolina

After his playing days ended, Morrison turned to coaching. After coaching high school basketball for several years, he landed at his alma mater, South Carolina, as freshman coach and assistant to head coach Chuck Noe in 1963. His college coaching career accelerated when Noe resigned due to exhaustion midway through the season. Morrison was named interim head coach for the last 12 games of the season, leading the Gamecocks to a 4-8 record down the stretch. After the season, South Carolina hired future Hall of Fame coach Frank McGuire, ending Morrison's tenure as head coach of the Gamecocks.[4]

Georgia Tech

Morrison landed at Georgia Tech as an assistant to John "Whack" Hyder. He spent 6 years with the Yellow Jackets before getting his next shot as a head coach at Mercer University. After a successful three-year stint at Mercer (48-22), Morrison had the opportunity to succeed his former mentor Hyder as head coach at Georgia Tech. Morrison led the Yellow Jackets for eight years from 1973 to 1981, a period which saw the school move from Independent status to the new Metro Conference, back to independent status and finally led their transition to the Atlantic Coast Conference. Unfortunately, Morrison's two years in the ACC were not successful, as his teams went 1-27 in league play over the two-year span. The bottom fell out in 1980-81, when Morrison's Jackets tallied the worst record in school history at 4-23, including a winless record in ACC play. Morrison was fired and replaced by Bobby Cremins. His overall record at Georgia Tech was 91-122.[5]

Head coaching record
Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
South Carolina Gamecocks (Atlantic Coast Conference) (1963–1964)
1963–64 South Carolina 4–84–64th
South Carolina: 4–84–6
Mercer Bears (NCAA College Division independent) (1970–1973)
1970–71 Mercer 14–9
1971–72 Mercer 19–7NCAA College Division Regional Semifinal
1972–73 Mercer 15–6
Mercer: 48–22
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (NCAA University Division / Division I independent) (1973–1975)
1973–74 Georgia Tech 5–21
1974–75 Georgia Tech 11–15
Georgia Tech: 16–36
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (Metro Conference) (1975–1978)
1975–76 Georgia Tech 13–140–15th
1976–77 Georgia Tech 18–103–3T–3rd
1977–78 Georgia Tech 15–126–6T–4th
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (NCAA Division I independent) (1978–1979)
1978–79 Georgia Tech 17–9
Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets (Atlantic Coast Conference) (1979–1981)
1979–80 Georgia Tech 8–181–138th
1980–81 Georgia Tech 4–230–148th
Georgia Tech: 91–12210–37
Total:143–152

References
  1. Oscar Fraley (January 22, 1952). "Pro Coaches Choice Team selected". Greensburg Daily Tribune. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
  2. Jim Foster (January 26, 1964). "Young coach "off" the spot". Spartanburg Herald-Journal. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
  3. 2008-09 South Carolina men's basketball media guide, page 134
  4. Evan Bussey (March 13, 1964). "Award for Morrison". The News and Courier. Retrieved May 9, 2011.
  5. 2010-11 Georgia Tech men's basketball media guide, page 119
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.