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

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

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. 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 La Salle University () is a private, Catholic university in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The university was founded in 1863 by the Institute of the Brothers of the Christian Schools and named for St. Jean-Baptiste de La Salle. History L ...

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 Lionel James "L-Train" Simmons (born November 14, 1968) is an American former professional basketball player. High school career Simmons led South Philadelphia High School to a Philadelphia Public League boys' championship in 1986, getting an MVP ...

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 Timothy Eugene Legler (born December 26, 1966) is an American former professional basketball player who played in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He is currently an ESPN basketball analyst and co-host/analyst on SiriusXM NBA Radio. Col ...

, and

Rasual Butler Rasual Butler (born Felix Rasual Cheeseborough; May 23, 1979 – January 31, 2018) was an American professional basketball player. In his 14-year National Basketball Association (NBA) career, he played for the Miami Heat, New Orleans Hornets, ...

. However, he was forced to resign in 2001 after eight straight losing seasons. Soon afterward, Morris was hired at

St. Joseph's Preparatory School St. Joseph's Preparatory School, known as "St. Joseph's Prep" or simply "The Prep", is an urban, private, Catholic, college preparatory school run by the Jesuits in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. It was founded in 1851. Curriculm Th ...

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. He wanted to continue coaching, but his battle with

Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a long-term degenerative disorder of the central nervous system that mainly affects the motor system. The symptoms usually emerge slowly, and as the disease worsens, non-motor symptoms becom ...

had taken its toll on him.

Head coaching record

College men's

References

1942 births Living people American men's basketball coaches American women's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Pennsylvania High school basketball coaches in Pennsylvania La Salle Explorers men's basketball coaches La Salle Explorers women's basketball coaches {{US-basketball-coach-stub