Former UVA Basketball great Richard Morgan has been named as the new head coach at Reinhardt University, an NAIA school in the metro Atlanta area.
Morgan, who stepped down as head coach at Bluefield University in March after 16 years, was announced as Reinhardt’s head coach Wednesday afternoon.
Morgan, who played at Virginia from 1986 to 1989, serving as team captain his senior year, played in 124 games, including 91 starts, and finished with 1,540 points, ranking 15th in school history.
But for most Virginia fans, the night of Jan. 15, 1989, will define Morgan’s career, when he dropped 39 points against No. 8 North Carolina in a 106-83 win in University Hall.
Morgan would go on to lead the ACC in scoring during the 1988-1989 season and be a first-team all-conference member.
In announcing the hiring of Morgan, Reinhardt athletics director Jonathan Burton had this to say:
“Coach Morgan separated himself from a very talented pool of coaches, and as we work toward becoming a championship program, I feel Richard can lead us to new heights both on and off the court.”
Morgan takes the reins from Justin Newton, who in seven years led the Eagles to an overall mark of 114-94.
Already familiar with the NAIA landscape after 16 years at Bluefield, Morgan brings nearly 40 years of experience to Reinhardt as a player, assistant and head coach.
Morgan spent time as an assistant at Hampton, East Carolina and Appalachian State.
I had a chance to speak with Morgan this week, and he said it’s been quite the journey since announcing his departure from Bluefield in March, including the possibility of joining new UVA coach Ryan Odom’s staff.
“It’s been an adventure since I announced my resignation,” said Morgan.
“At first, I didn’t know what my next step would be or should be. The timing was about when Ryan was named coach at Virginia. I reached out and spoke with him. We talked about a lot of things. In the end, I think the fact that he was brining most of his VCU staff with him really limited what role I would have had,” said Morgan.
When the Reinhardt position became available, Morgan said the journey became worthwhile.
“Reinhardt is in a great location, 45 minutes from Atlanta, and has tremendous resources. They’re in the same conference as Bluefield, so I’m very familiar with the landscape around the conference,” noted Morgan.
Interesting tidbit on the move: Morgan’s son is a rising senior on the Bluefield team, which Reinhardt faces on Feb. 21.
I asked what his thoughts about that pending matchup meant.
The answer: “He’s not scoring a point,” said Morgan, who also said he was kidding.
Knowing Richard, he wasn’t.
Currently, Morgan is in Greensboro, N.C., with the USA Select International Tour.
The team, comprised of rookies straight out of college, will showcase its talents on the European stage in August, playing 17 games in 21 days.
The tour gives the players the chance to, in essence, audition for spots on teams in the ever-emerging European professional leagues.
Yep, a meat market.
This is Morgan’s 13th year of involvement with USA Select, and he says the players over in Europe keep getting better.
“It’s the fundamentals. The European players just work so hard and so long on mastering the fundamentals. It’s not surprising to see how they are excelling in the NBA,” noted Morgan.
When our conversation turned back to Virginia and Odom, Morgan said he has all the confidence in Odom being successful in Charlottesville.
“Hey, I know he didn’t play at Virginia, but he grew up around the program, he’s grown up with basketball, he’s had success everywhere he’s been, and there’s no doubt that will continue at UVA,” said Morgan.
Richard Morgan, another Virginia basketball legend, has made a niche for himself in basketball despite never returning to his alma mater.
And according to Morgan, that’s just fine.
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