­Manager discusses experience

    When senior Mark Morris followed his father’s footsteps to attend Murray State, he dreamed of working with the Racer basketball team and seeing them through an OVC Championship and NCAA berth.
    With the Racers’ 62-51 win over Morehead State Saturday, Morris, who is serving his fourth year as men’s basketball manager, quenched his thirst for the title.
    “I really do feel like I’m part of the basketball team,” Morris said. “I get the ring, the medal. I’ve actually been wearing the medal in my apartment for days now. My friends are making fun of me - daring me to wear it to class and stuff. I’ve got the nets hung up in my room already. It was my absolute dream to come here and win a championship. I’m extremely lucky and blessed to have that opportunity.”
    Morris said joining the program at the same time as Head Coach Billy Kennedy has made his experience even more rewarding.
    “I’ve been with him for four years and two of the assistants for four years,” he said. “I really enjoy that I’ve had the same coach for four years and the continuity that brings. It keeps me comfortably in my position. I know what I have to get done.”
    In his years as manager, Morris has continued to take on more responsibilities, including doing the team’s laundry, acting as a practice dummy and preparing recruiting packets.
    “I go on every single road trip,” Morris said. “I wake the guys up every morning, the whole travel party. I put them all to bed and take their phones the night before game days.”
    Morris said he had to learn to balance the duties of both basketball manager and college student.
    “I know the time I had to put into school,” he said. “It’s a ton of late nights and early mornings. With studying, there’s really no excuse for not getting everything done. With basketball, they just expect it to be done every day.  Once I found out how much time I needed to dedicate to academics, I learned how to grind it out.”
    With the hard work and time Morris puts into Racer basketball, he said the relationships made are unmatched and extend beyond the court.
    “Me, Danero (Thomas) and (Georges Fotso) came in together, and Tony was already here,” Morris said. “Those guys I’m probably the tightest with because it’s been so long. All the guys come over to the apartment and hang out.”
    Morris said the many road trips have strengthened the friendships.   
    “On the road, we mess with each other all the time,” he said. “Road trips we look forward to because you don’t have any other thing besides basketball to worry about. We wrestle. I mess with them with their laundry and all that stuff. I’m really going to miss the guys and the relationships that I’ve established, and I’ll continue to keep in contact with them and whatever they do as they continue to have success in the future.”
    Aside from the relationships with coaches and players, Morris said his position has opened doors to other unique experiences.
    “One of the coolest parts about it is that I’m really getting education outside of classroom with the basketball thing,” Morris said. “The halftime speeches, the pregame speeches, the postgame speeches – it’s so cool just to be inside there. Coach Kennedy is a pretty laid-back guy, but he also has a way of encouraging those guys as soft-spoken as he is. He has a really unique way of getting guys going and getting them pumped up for the game.”
    Morris said in his four years, he has seen Kennedy and the athletes grow into a championship team.
    “The success we’re having is just a testament to Coach K and his recruiting ability and the assistant coaches,” he said.
    The past four years have been filled with many memories, Morris said.
    “A personal (best) would probably be that they made a Facebook group for the last home game against Morgan State (called) Let Mark Morris Play. Tyler Sinclair, one of my good friends who plays football, e-mailed Coach Kennedy before the game and tried to convince him to get me in the game and get me a jersey. And then I got to the game, all my fraternity brothers had signs for me and chanting, ‘Put Mark in.’ It was funny to see. That was definitely a special moment for me just because my friends are so crazy and they’ve supported me all the way through.”
    Morris said this season and the OVC tournament, however, have been the highlights of his time here.
    “We knew the whole season we were the best team in the conference,” he said. “I remember praying every day, ‘Come on, please just let us get to the championship game.’ Friday, it was nerve-wracking. We shot terrible. We always shoot terrible in that gym.
    “Saturday came along and as soon as halftime hit and it was tied 24-24 I knew that our defense is too good. As soon as the buzzer went off, it was my dream. And it’s crazy because you’re not putting the shots in the basket and you’re not playing the defense, but you really feel like you’re a part of the team.”
    As graduation approaches, Morris continues to look toward the future.
    “I’m trying to get a (graduate) assistant position,” Morris said. “Most coaches don’t really make that decision until March Madness is over, so it’s kind of a waiting game. It’s very stressful not knowing what you’re going to do in two months. At the same time, I think the success that we have is really going to help me out. The assistant coaches and Coach K are definitely going to help me out in the connections and the opportunities that I’ve made and had since I’ve been a part of the Murray State basketball program, which is known nationally.
    “A lot of people in the world of college basketball know about the Racers and how much of a story program we are,” he said. “I really think that I’m going to get a position because I’ve done it. I think I’ve learned the right way from Coach Kennedy and a lot of people respect him and know the program he’s built here in Murray. I do want to coach college basketball in the future.”
    While he is looking to his own plans following graduation, Morris said he is happy waiting to see the results of Selection Sunday.
    “It’s going be crazy,” he said. “It’s a week of guessing - who we’re going play, where we’re going to be. I’ve dreamt of this for four years now and it’s finally here. Sunday, we’ll come up on the screen on national television. I’ll go wherever. I don’t care who we play. Bring it on. We’ve got some talent. We got the potential to make some serious noise at the NCAA tournament, and I’m excited. I can’t wait to see who we play. I can’t wait to watch.”
    Contact Johnson at elizabetha.johnson@murraystate.edu.