Mission’s Luke Morris ended a 58-year championship drought at the high school level, and he’s now hoping to also bring championship gold to the Thompson Rivers University WolfPack.
The men’s basketball star was a key part in TRU’s first-round upset win over the Brandon University Bobcats last weekend.
Morris and the WolfPack won two straight in Brandon to claim the series 2-1, and Morris shined in the decisive game three on Sunday with a team-high 25 points.
Basketball is in his blood – his father Peter Morris was a former Team Canada national player and a university star with the Acadia Axemen.
Morris said his dad first got him interested in the sport, and he moved on to play at Mission Secondary for what would turn out to be a memorable run.
In his Grade 11 year, the Roadrunners senior boys basketball team lost in the final, but in 2012 Morris helped the Roadrunners win their first provincial title since 1954.
“I remember we had a bunch of really athletic guys on that team,” he said. “We had a few really tough football guys on the team too and we were all really good friends. We had everyone in the right role and we just meshed well together.”
Mission took down the St. Thomas More Knights 70-56 in the AA final that year, thanks in large part to Morris. He was named the tournament’s most valuable player and a first-team all star.
“It was a special year because Mission won a football title that year too,” Morris said. “It was such a relief for us to win. We were ranked number one all year and there was lots of pressure on us.”
Sitting in the stands watching Morris lead his team to victory was WolfPack men’s basketball head coach Scott Clark. TRU tried to get him to join the WolfPack out of high school, but Morris opted to join the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) Cascades after graduation.
“I was brought to UFV by [former Cascades coach] Barnaby Craddock,” Morris said. “But when I went there he ended up going to the University of Alberta that fall. I decided to stay a year at UFV and it was a good group of guys, but it ended up not being the right fit for me academically.”
Clark said Morris contacted him at the end of the basketball season, and he was thrilled to add Morris to his roster.
“He’s a really nice guy and someone who cares about his teammates,” Clark said. “He brings the guys together.”
Clark explained that Morris is an extremely versatile player.
“He’s a bigger guy [six-foot-five] and can score in a variety of ways,” he said. “He can step out and hit a three, score in the post, score in the cut and offensive rebound.”
In his fourth year of U Sports basketball, Clark said Morris has thrived this season with more playing opportunities. He averaged 10.3 points and 6.8 rebounds per game during the season, but saved his best for that crucial game-three win.
“There has been increased expectations from our coaching staff and he’s shown more leadership and a lot of growth this season,” Clark said. “He’s grown as an athlete and a person and I’m pleased with his growth.”
Morris and the WolfPack now take on the Calgary Dinos in the Canada West quarter-finals.
The best-of-three series kicked off on Thursday, game two is on Friday and game three, if necessary, occurs on Saturday.