Player References

Coach Morris to this day was one of my favorite coaches to play for, he taught us how to work hard and be disciplined and how to be winners on and off the court. Coach Kimar Morris was a vital part of my development not only as a basketball player but as a young man. The way he invested in us as student-athletes was second to none. Rather it was making us do study hall before practices and games or making us come in before school or staying after practice for workouts he pushed us to be the best that we could be. It all played a major part of me being able to go on and play basketball at the collegiate level. Still,to this day as a current Division 2 college coach, I’ve never saw anybody draw up plays as well as Coach Morris did and we would all wonder how he even came up with it. Coach Morris was more than just a coach to me. He was a mentor, somebody I could reach out to and talk to if I ever needed anything. 11 years later he is still one call away, before I went back to graduate school I reached out to him to get advice and he is still one of the first calls when I come back to Cincinnati to recruit because I know that he understands the game of basketball and will steer me in the right direction with players. He positively impacts the life of anybody he encounters, and to this day he is still impacting the lives of student-athletes. Everybody needs to come across a coach like Coach Morris in their lifetime, and honestly, more coaches in the world need to be like Coach Morris. 

• Malcolm Smith

Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach

Edward Waters University 

Office: 904-470-8399

Email: M.Smith@ewc.edu

Hey Coach, man, our AAU days were on my mind, and I just wanted to say thanks for all the time you put into us. I was 15 I ain’t realize at the time, you were really getting us ready for real life and closer to God and giving us life morals through basketball.

I have had many coaches, but you and coach Ozzie were the only ones that ever impacted my life outside of basketball. I knew it was real love for your players when you had your wife pick me up from Lincoln heights for practice.

I have got to give you your flowers and you're from Detroit! The best city in the world! God made you my coach for a reason. Thanks, Coach Morris

• Jaleel S.

Coach Kimar Morris was my basketball coach for my sophomore and junior year of high school. Though only two years, he had a massive impact on me not only on the court but also off the court. Coach Morris had a strong focus; on hard work and never letting potential go to waste. Although I was a hard worker on the court, my off-the-court duties as my schoolwork would lack from time to time. Coach Morris is the only coach I ever had that stressed the importance of school and how that translated to my actions on the court. Knowing the two go hand in hand, Coach Morris has a great way of getting his players to go the extra mile they didn’t know was there before.

• Noah R.