Mike Morrell (basketball)

Mike Morrell
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamUNC Asheville
ConferenceBig South
Record95–88 (.519)
Biographical details
Born (1982-08-22) August 22, 1982 (age 42)
Elizabethton, Tennessee, U.S.
Playing career
2000–2005Milligan
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
2005–2007King (assistant)
2010–2011Charleston Southern (assistant)
2011–2015VCU (assistant)
2015–2018Texas (assistant)
2018–presentUNC Asheville
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
2007–2010Clemson (dir. of ops.)
Head coaching record
Overall95–88 (.519)
Tournaments0–1 (NCAA Division I)
1–1 (CBI)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
Big South tournament (2023)
Big South regular season (2023)
Awards
Big South Coach of the Year (2023)

Mike Morrell (born August 22, 1982) is an American college basketball coach, and current head coach of the UNC Asheville Bulldogs men's basketball team.[1][2]

Playing career

Morrell was a two-sport athlete at Milligan College playing both basketball and golf. He was a three-year starter and 1,000-point scorer in men's basketball and two-time all-league selection in golf.[2]

Morrell is still listed in the Milligan College men's basketball record books. As a freshman in 2000-01, he led the basketball team in free throw percentage (80.9%). During the 2002-03 season, he led the team in 3 pt field goals made (49) and free throw percentage (82.4%)[3]

Coaching career

After graduation in 2005, Morrell landed his first coaching job at King University for two seasons before joining Oliver Purnell's staff at Clemson as a graduate assistant and director of basketball operations from 2007 to 2010.[4] After a one-year stop at Charleston Southern, Morrell joined Shaka Smart's staff at VCU, and was part of four Rams NCAA Tournament squads.[5] Morrell followed Smart to Texas as an assistant coach and stayed in the position until April 11, 2018 when he was named the seventh head coach in UNC Asheville men's basketball history, replacing Nick McDevitt who departed for Middle Tennessee.[6][1]

Morrell has coached a number of National Basketball Association players, including 2014 NBA D-League All-star and current Phoenix Suns player Troy Daniels. He also coached 2015 A-10 Tournament MVP and current Charlotte Hornets player Treveon Graham, and three-time A-10 Defensive Player of the Year Brianté Weber, who plays with the Memphis Grizzlies. Most recently, Morrell coached current Atlanta Hawks player Isaiah Taylor, and 2016 McDonald's All-American Jarrett Allen, who was selected 22nd overall in the 2017 NBA Draft by the Brooklyn Nets.

Head coaching record

NCAA DI

Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
UNC Asheville Bulldogs (Big South Conference) (2018–present)
2018–19 UNC Asheville 4–27 2–14 10th
2019–20 UNC Asheville 15–16 8–10 T–5th
2020–21 UNC Asheville 10–10 9–5 4th
2021–22 UNC Asheville 17–15 8–8 4th (South) CBI Quarterfinals
2022–23 UNC Asheville 27–8 16–2 1st NCAA Division I Round of 64
2023–24 UNC Asheville 22–12 14–4 2nd
UNC Asheville: 95–88 (.519) 57–43 (.570)
Total: 95–88 (.519)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

References

  1. ^ a b "Morrell Named Head Coach of UNC Asheville Men's Basketball Program - UNC Asheville". UNC Asheville.
  2. ^ a b "Mike Morrell - Staff Directory - UNC Asheville". www.uncabulldogs.com.
  3. ^ "Athletic Record Books". Archived from the original on November 26, 2017. Retrieved April 25, 2018.
  4. ^ "Michael Morrell Promoted to Director of Operations for Men's Basketball".
  5. ^ "VCU". VCU.
  6. ^ "Mike Morrell - Men's Basketball Coach".


Flag of United StatesBiography icon

This biographical article relating to a United States basketball coach is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.