Wayne Morgan
| Sport(s) | Basketball |
|---|---|
| Biographical details | |
| Born |
October 7, 1950 Brooklyn, New York, USA |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1973–1974 | Ithaca College (asst.) |
| 1974–1975 | Dutchess C. C. |
| 1975–1979 | Dartmouth College (asst.) |
| 1979–1984 | Xavier (asst.) |
| 1984–1996 | Syracuse (asst.) |
| 1996–2002 | Long Beach State |
| 2002–2003 | Iowa State (asst.) |
| 2003–2006 | Iowa State |
| 2009–2013 | Hofstra (asst.) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 146–123 |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| Big West Regular Season West Division Championship (2000) | |
Wayne Morgan (born October 7, 1950) was the Iowa State University men's basketball coach from 2003 to 2006. He was Iowa State University’s first African American head basketball coach.
Morgan coached at Long Beach State for six seasons before accepting the head coaching position at Iowa State. In three years at Iowa State, Morgan had a combined record of 55-39, marking his record third to Larry Eustachy (72-26, two NCAA tournament appearances, one Elite eight appearance) and Tim Floyd (69-29, twice second round of NCAA tourney) in the history of Iowa State University basketball coaches finishing their third year. During this time his team went to the NIT semifinals and the second round of the NCAA tournament, where they were overpowered by the eventual national champions, North Carolina. Morgan's third year, struggling to rebuild the four and five positions was less spectacular, finishing with a 16-14 record overall, and marred by claims of lack of team control. Morgan was fired in March 2006 and was replaced by Greg McDermott, a native Iowan, and head coach of the University of Northern Iowa.
His up-tempo style of basketball generated doubt across the state but produced a memorable first season that featured a team which was playing its best basketball late in the season. ISU recorded 20 wins in Morgan's rookie season, tying for the ninth-best win total in school history. The 20 wins produced by Morgan, which is the second-best win total for an ISU coach in his first season at the helm, was just one of several highlights in his inaugural season.
The Cyclones were virtually unbeatable at home, going 17-1 in Hilton Coliseum. The 17 home wins was the second-highest home win tally in school history and the 94.4 percent home winning percentage is the fifth-best clip in the ISU annals. Three of ISU's 17 home wins were against teams that advanced to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen (Xavier, Kansas, Texas) and two were against instate rivals Iowa and Drake, helping ISU win its second consecutive mythical state championship. Morgan paced ISU to a NIT appearance, the school's 14th postseason bid in the last 21 years. The Cyclones caught fire in the NIT, defeating Georgia, Florida State and Marquette, earning a trip to New York City in the semifinals at Madison Square Garden.
One of Morgan's star players in his first season was Curtis Stinson, a fellow New Yorker who he recruited to ISU in his first season as an assistant with the Cyclones. Stinson was one of the best freshman in all of college basketball, earning Big 12 Freshman of the Year honors and first-team Freshman All-America accoladess by Basketball Times. Stinson and Jackson Vroman both earned third-team all-Big 12 honors in Morgan's first year. Vroman led the league in rebounding, becoming the first Cyclone to top the conference in boards since 1980. Morgan helped Vroman develop into one of the best centers in the nation in his final season with the Cyclones. His improvement enabled him get drafted in the second round of the 2004 NBA Draft as the No. 31 pick.
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