Lakehead B-Ball Head Coach Morrison Heads East
THUNDER BAY – Sports – Lakehead Thunderwolves Basketball Head coach Scott Morrison has chosen to take a bold step in his career and the development of the Lakehead men’s basketball program.
Morrison is taking a professional leave of absence and accepting a role with the Boston Celtics affiliate, the Maine Red Claws. Based in Portland, Maine, the Red Claws are part of the NBA Development League.
Says Maine head coach Mike Taylor, “Scott will be heavily involved in the day to day activities of our coaching staff and his professional experience with our organization will be full ranging from assisting with our 2013 D-League Draft preparations and preseason tryouts to opponent scouting and on-floor drillwork. His main responsibility will be in scouting and advance scouting, but we will take advantage of his experience and versatility by getting him deeply involved.”
Heading into the regular season, 9-year Lakehead assistant coach Matt Erdman will assume the role of Interim Head Coach.
The Maine Red Claws are 1 of 17 teams in the NBADL, and have had 7 of their players called up to play in the NBA since their inception in 2009. On the flip side, the Red Claws have had 5 players assigned to their roster from the Boston Celtics. 132 current NBA players have experience in the NBA D-League.
“It’s an incredible professional development opportunity,” says Athletic Director Tom Warden. “Scott deserves this chance. When he returns our program will be all the more competitive.”
Scott explains, “This opportunity would not be possible were it not for the unwavering support of my Athletic Director and President. I am also blessed with an experienced coaching staff, with which our players will be in good hands while I am away. We have been through many on-court battles together, share a common vision for the program, and together have competed at the top level in the CIS. A big thanks also goes out to Coach Taylor and everyone involved with the Red Claws and Celtics organization for making this possible. I look forward to making every effort to contribute to their success during my stay with the team.”
“We congratulate and support Coach Morrison in pursuing this opportunity to develop as a basketball coach,” says Lakehead President and Vice-Chancellor Dr. Brian Stevenson. “At Lakehead we strive for the best, and Scott will be getting experience with an elite basketball organization.”
Morrison continues, “It will be tough to part with our players whom I have enjoyed working with the past 2 months and beyond. They would not have chosen Lakehead were it not for their desire to be the best they can be – for that reason I know they will understand why I must make an attempt to do the same. In the end, we will all be working hard, from our various locations, for the common goal of bringing a national championship to Thunder Bay. I look forward to when I can share with our team what I will learn in Portland and hope it can help push us closer to our ultimate goal.”
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