WHERE ARE THEY NOW: Wayne Morgan

[ChrisMWilliams]

Really think you guys will enjoy this month's "Where Are They Now," with Wayne Morgan. Great work by Rob as always.

https://cyclonefanatic.com/2017/06/where-are-they-now-wayne-morgan/

 

[NickTheGreat]

That was a fascinating read. Talk about a roller-coaster of a life story.

 

[crash_zone]

Wonder if he'd still be an assistant coach at the D-1 level if he hadn't been elevated to HC?

 

[rholtgraves]

he wasn't a great coach but he did better than McDermott! And he could get players.

 

[Sigmapolis]

Wayne Morgan had a heart like a great white shark.

A big one.

 

[ISUCubswin]

Nice job, CW and CF crew. Good read.

 

[Doc]

Agree that that was a great read. Love the Boeheim quote.

 

[LindenCy]

 

[Frak]

I always thought that first team with Homan, Vroman, Sullivan, Stinson, Blalock should have been so much better than NIT. We'd kill for those two bigs the past few years. LE's recruiting had fallen off due to losing assistants after the Elite 8, but if he would have stayed out of trouble with WM recruiting, ISU would have been a power again soon.

 

[2Xclone]

That was a great read...nice job Rob

 

[The_Architect]

Good stuff Rob.

 

[ISUChippewa]

Excellent afternoon read.

I've mentioned this story a few times before on here, but within the context of the thread it's worth mentioning again;

During his 2nd season I was given the opportunity to attend a basketball practice thanks to my father, who was a professor at ISU at the time and who had developed a friendly acquiantanceship with Wayne. I was in town during the first few weeks of basketball season on a vacation from my job in Florida and went to a practice in the practice facility (the name of which currently escapes me). Wayne greeted me very warmly and introduced me to Gary Thompson (whom I actually already knew, again through my father), and I was able to sit down and watch a few minutes of practice.

It's funny; for having a reputation as a players' coach I saw and heard him absolutely light up Curtis Stinson during the practice for giving up on a play during a live scrimmage when he got fouled. Screamed the "F-bomb" at Curtis at the top of his lungs and everything. That moment kind of surprised me since we had always heard about what such a nice man he was (and he absolutely was with me during our quick chat before practice started).

Anyway, while recognizing that he will not be the greatest coach in ISU basketball history, I've always (and always will be) quick to defend him on this forum and others. I remember some well-meaning fools actually claiming that Greg McDermott was a better coach than WM based on actually running "X's and O's" type of plays that he ran as opposed to WM's more free-flowing approach despite the big disparity in the wins and losses columns. Such arguments remain in the Top 3 of the dumbest things I've ever seen written on CycloneFanatic.com.

It's nice to read that Wayne seems happy and content with his lot in life. I hope he stays that way.

 

[lakeliving]

Great job, I enjoy reading these pieces each time. One of the best reads on this site each month. I would enjoy a piece on Chris and Tom Boskey at some point.

 

[Chitowncy]

Great read! I love the detail and interesting stories Rob Gray's reporting elicits! Thanks for posting.

 

[SerenityNow]

I wonder how many posters did what I did at first...why is LindenCy posting two pics of Wayne Morgan?

The resemblance is uncanny.

 

[twojman]

Thanks for the story, great and interesting read. Wayne got such a bad rap from people. Weren't his first 3 seasons like the highest winning % at the time for an ISU coaches first 3 seasons? Fred may have passed that.

Anyway, I liked watching them play and I was so angry when I found out McDermott was going to be the coach.

 

[CyDude16]

Haven't read, but did he try and slip in a sales pitch for New York Life Insurance like he did at the New York pregame party a few years ago??

 

[SpokaneCY]

I remember some well-meaning fools actually claiming that Greg McDermott was a better coach than WM based on actually running "X's and O's" type of plays that he ran as opposed to WM's more free-flowing approach despite the big disparity in the wins and losses columns. Such arguments remain in the Top 3 of the dumbest things I've ever seen written on CycloneFanatic.com.

Well, 1 guy sells whole life insurance and the other makes makes millions of dollars a year coaching basketball.

Which one again is the better coach?

 

[cycloneworld]

Wayne coached ISU during my last 3 years at ISU and I always enjoyed him. We got to the games 2 hrs before tip to be among the first in line and sat in the same seats each game. And he would almost always come over and have a quick chat with us.

Plus he did as good of a job as he could with a very tough transition. And if you look at the other coaches names that interviewed - Wayne Morgan was the best of the bunch. Steve McClain, Jeff Lebo, Ray Lopes - great candidates Bruce.

We lost a lot of close games. If those close ones went to the good guys, Morgan would likely be viewed very differently.

 

[ISUChippewa]

Well, 1 guy sells whole life insurance and the other makes makes millions of dollars a year coaching basketball.

Which one again is the better coach?

And during their tenures at ISU, one coach had three winning seasons and made two post-season tournaments, winning games in each of those tournaments.

The other coach had four losing seasons and never even sniffed the NIT bubble.

Which coach was a better coach during their time at ISU?