Rick Barnes smells blood, and he’s ready to strike. For the most part, with a few exceptions like Kennedy Chandler, J.P. Prince and Tony Harris, Tennessee Basketball has historically been unable to penetrate the Memphis market in recruiting, largely because of the Tigers’ hold on that region.
That’s especially been the case with favorite son Penny Hardaway coaching the program the past seven years. However, Hardaway’s seat has warmed up just a tad recently given the fact that he hasn’t won an NCAA Tournament game since getting hired their seven years ago, and it looks like Barnes is trying to drive that wedge even further to benefit the Vols on the recruiting trail.
When UT lost assistant coach Rod Clark, who left to join the Indiana Hoosiers’ staff under their first year coach Darian DeVries, Barnes said he felt like he had that position covered. Less than 48 hours later, Tennessee Basketball hired Amorrow Morgan away from the Cal Golden Bears as his replacement.
Before spending the past two seasons with Cal, Morgan coached as an assistant with the Loyola-Chicago Ramblers, South Alabama Jaguars, Nicholls State Colonels in Louisiana, Henderson State Reddies in Arkansas, Our Lady of the Lake Saints in Texas and and Illinois-Springfield Prairie Stars. However, here’s the key: he is a Memphis native.
A product of Cordova High School in Shelby County, Tenn., Morgan has likely gained experience recruiting the area throughout all of his stops, which have been in the South and across the country. Although he brings a solid coaching background to Barnes’ program and plenty of winning experience, you have to think targeting Memphis was part of the move.
And why not?
As we mentioned, Hardaway’s ice is thinning, but on top of that, Barnes has a chance to settle a score. We all remember the shots Hardaway took at Barnes and Tennessee Basketball after this series was renewed for three games starting in 2018. Although Hardaway openly regretted his comments later, it was still a bad look.
Morgan, who played for the Idaho State Vandals from 2006 to 2010, averaged double figures his final two years in college and was a three-time team captain, two-time All Big Sky Honoree and served as the president and vice president of the school’s student-athlete advisory committee (SAAC). He played in Europe for three years after that.
As a result, Morgan brings national and international experience along with ties to the Memphis area for the Vols. He should be able to help Tennessee Basketball recruit key regions, and Chicago is another one of those reasons. Simply put, he’s a solid hire on paper no matter what, but the Memphis tie certainly adds to it.
