By Owen McCall
In Motion Staff Writer
Basketball coach Brock Morris is embarking on his first season with the Daytona State College Falcons. Overall, he is optimistic because he has a good staff and players who can attain victory. Originally from Alabama, he Brock Morris was named DSC’s head coach in May. Morris comes to Daytona State with experience as a 10-year veteran with eight seasons at the NCAA Division One level. He has coached at the University of South Alabama, University of Louisiana and the University of Alabama.
Morris joined the South Alabama men’s basketball staff in August 2015, where he helped the Jaguars become one of the top defenses in the country from 2015 to 2018 as the defensive coordinator on Matthew Graves staff. In the 2017-18 season the Jags ranked sixth in the nation in 3-point defense (.305) and 24th in field-goal defense (.407); both percentages were the third lowest in school history.
In Motion sat down with the coach for a one-on-one this month.
Going into your first season as the Daytona State head coach, what are some of your general expectations?
Morris: “I think I’m always careful to put expectations on a team. Our motto is ‘Character sets the floor, talent sets the season.’ My expectations are to get better with the end goal in mind of making it to a national championship.”
Last season, the Falcons finished with an overall winning record of 19-12, however they were 5-7 against conference opponents. What is your strategy to attain a winning conference record?
Morris: “I think it goes back to the first question, but if we work on it in practice and we focus on practice, the games will take care of themselves.”
Junior college sports have a high turnover rate, with players moving on to NCAA programs after one or two seasons. Only two players from last season’s team are returning this year. From a coach’s perspective, how do you deal with that turnover rate?
Morris: “I’ve spent time with coaches who’ve been one and done at the Division 1 level. Our goal is to create value with our players. There’s also another side to this, which is getting them into the best place academically, socially, and athletically. There were 70 coaches in the gym Monday. We tell our kids we must achieve collectively.”
First game of the year is Nov. 2 against CAI. Based on what you’ve seen of them, what stood out to you about this upcoming opponent and how will you prepare for them?
Morris: “We’ll get into that closer to the season. Aaron Holmes is the head coach, and I expect them to have a good defense. We play Denmark (Georgia) Technical College the next day, so taking care of our bodies will be important as well.”
There’s still time before the season starts, but based on the pre-season practices, who would you say are your projected starting 5 and why?
Morris: “I don’t get into depth charts. Too early. To me, everyone starts off equal. I would be more concerned about who finishes the game. And honestly, it’s going to be about who can be a good teammate, who produces, and who wins the team.”
What are some areas you would like to improve upon before the season starts?
Morris: “I mean, without giving the generic ‘everything,’ one of the challenges of junior college is there is no juniors and seniors. I understand we’re going to make mistakes, but if we play well every night with energy I’ll be happy.”
Of all the teams that DSC is facing this year, which one are you most looking forward to facing?
Morris: “I think each one will bring a unique challenge. We don’t really circle a team, and not look forward or past a certain team. We have a jamboree Oct. 7, so whoever we’re playing that first game, that’s who we’re focused on.”
How much pressure do you feel you’re under being a first-year head coach?
Morris: “You know what, to me pressure is relative to preparation. We have a staff that has produced great student athletes and a great team. I think we work the process every day and we’ll let the scoreboard speak for itself.”
Academics aren’t normally discussed when talking about college sports. The Falcons men’s basketball program posted a 3.55 GPA over the summer semester, the highest the program has achieved. From a coach’s perspective, how important are academics to a college athletic program on a scale of 1-10?
Morris: “Ten. Absolutely. Without question. The ball goes flat on everyone at some point. It’s a great moment in life, will provide memories and skills. The reality is the majority of these guys won’t play in the NBA. We must prepare them academically. We have four pillars: Create value academically, socially, spiritually, and athletically.
Tell us about some of your prior coaching experience and how you think it will help you this season.
Morris: “I’ve worked for six different head coaches. I’ve taken a lot from each one, put my own preference on it. I look forward to helping these young men create values for themselves collectively as a team and individually, and to represent Daytona State on a national level in a way that makes themselves and the community proud.