Reggie Morris Jr., who has had an outstanding run as a high school coach in Southern California, has joined the Pepperdine men’s basketball staff as an assistant coach, Lorenzo Romar announced today.
“I’ve known Reggie Morris Jr. for quite some time,” said Romar, who is beginning his second tenure as Pepperdine’s head coach. “I’ve known his dad, who was one of top coaches in the Los Angeles area, for years. Reggie is as well-respected as any coach in the area that I’ve seen or heard. He’s a great tactician, really understands the game, understands talent, and has a broad network of people he knows in the Southern California area that we think will be very beneficial to Pepperdine basketball.”
Morris, who won a state title with Redondo Union High School in 2013, also has college coaching experience with one season (2016-17) on Loyola Marymount’s staff.
“To come work at a school like Pepperdine where the education is first-class, the campus is second to none, and to work for a coach like Coach Romar is a great opportunity that I couldn’t pass up,” Morris said. “I’m glad to be a part of it and to try to revitalize things and try to add to what the previous staff did. Coach Romar has been a mentor to me of sorts. As a young coach, he always had words of wisdom for me.”
As a high school coach, Morris put together a record of 339-126 over 15 seasons. He coached future NBA players Russell Westbrook and Dorell Wright.
Most recently, Morris spent the 2017-18 school year as the head coach at Culver City High School. He led the Centaurs to an 18-10 record, the Ocean League title and the quarterfinals of the Division 3A CIF Southern Section playoffs.
Prior to his year at LMU, Morris had been at Redondo Union since 2012-13. In addition to winning the 2013 Division II state title his first year there, he also won a CIF Southern California Division I Regional title in his final season. He led the Sea Hawks to three CIF state championship appearances.
He and his father, Reggie Sr., are the only father-son combination to win California state high school basketball championships. His father coached Manual Arts to the Division I crown in 1988.
Reggie Morris Jr.’s first head coaching job was at Leuzinger High. During his eight years there, he coached both Westbrook and Wright and guided the school to its first CIF Southern Section title.
In 2011, he moved over to St. Bernard High School. The Vikings went from a four-win season before he arrived to 26-9 and 25-8 in his two years there, which included a runner-up finish at the 2011 Division V state championship and a 2012 CIF 5AA Southern Section title.
A Los Angeles native, Morris attended Westchester High School for three years before graduating from Locke High School in 1996. He played for his father there and averaged 15 points while earning all-league honors.
After a year at UC Santa Barbara, Morris came home and played for his father the next two seasons at Los Angeles Southwest College. He then transferred to Howard University, where he played two seasons and was the team MVP in 1999-2000. He graduated in 2001 with a degree in history.
Morris then worked for a year as a graduate assistant to legendary coach Jim Phelan at Mount Saint Mary’s University before returning to Southern California.
https://pepperdinewaves.com/news/2018/8/20/morris-joins-mens-basketball-staff.aspx
