Sammy Smith needed a scale Tuesday afternoon.
Two months earlier, Smith”s jaw dropped when former Columbus High boys basketball standout Phillip Morris entered his office.
“What have you been doing?” Smith asked Morris, a former CHS point guard who went on to play basketball at Southwest Mississippi Community College in Summit.
“It”s muscle, coach,” said Morris, who had “bulked” up to 215 pounds at the end of his sophomore season.
“Muscle my butt. Man, you better get that weight down,” Smith said. “You”re too big to be doing what you need to be doing.”
Morris had added muscle mass, but he listened as Smith encouraged him to change his diet and to exercise to get his weight down below 200 pounds. If Morris did, Smith said it would increase his chances of earning a scholarship from a four-year school so he could continue his basketball career.
Mission accomplished.
On Tuesday, Morris made it official when he signed scholarship papers to play basketball at the University of West Alabama in Livingston, Ala.
“I was just out of shape more than anything,” Morris said. “I told him it wasn”t going to be hard to get the weight back down.”
Morris turned to a diet loaded with fruit and kicked his workouts into high gear. He wore a weight jacket when he ran. He became a regular at Columbus High and spent hours playing basketball in his old stomping grounds. It didn”t take long for the 215-pounder to see the fruits of his labor, but it took a little longer to find the right college fit.
Morris received interest from Belhaven, Mississippi College, Alcorn State, and Wiley (Texas) College before he found the place he knew he needed to be.
West Alabama, a Division II school, is a member of the Gulf South Conference, which includes Delta State. Mike Newell was hired in April as the school”s new men”s basketball coach. The team went 11-15 this past season.
“When I went there and got into a couple of games I liked a couple of the players and I liked the coach and his attitude,” Morris said. “I feel really good about going on. I think it is going to be a really good fit.”
Morris averaged 9.2 points, 3.9 assists, and 3.0 rebounds per game as a senior at Columbus High and helped the Falcons finish 17-7 in 2008-09. He didn”t see nearly as much team success in his two seasons at Southwest Mississippi C.C., but he matured as a player and earned valuable playing time he feels prepared him to take the next step.
“It was a learning experience,” said Morris, who was a captain of the team both seasons. “Both years it was a tough situation, but I think I played pretty good.”
Morris was pleased with his performance even though he was significantly heavier than he was in high school. He said the talk he had with Smith helped motivate him to lose weight. He said he wasn”t in shape when he worked out for Alcorn State, but that had changed when he visited Wiley College and had a tryout.
“I was back in shape,” Morris said. “I was really confident.”
Smith also knew Morris was on the right track. He was in contact with coaches from all of the schools, and he had a good feeling Morris would like West Alabama. He said Morris” ability to get back in shape epitomizes a work ethic and a willingness to listen Newell will enjoy.
“I think it will be a great fit,” Smith said. “Four years ago he trusted me and he still trusts me.”
That”s why Morris was looking for a scale Tuesday when he walked in on his mother, Janet, and Smith in Smith”s office. The two were talking and looked up to see a slimmed down junior-to-be who looked ready to take on his next challenge.
“I kind of knew (I was too big),” Morris said. “I was kind of denying it to myself. But once I realized it might be a problem I told (coach Smith) it was going to be easy to take the weight off. I had confidence in myself. I knew if I was going to turn myself around I was going to have to lose the weight, so I was going to do it.”
Adam Minichino is the former Sports Editor for The Commercial Dispatch.
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