While the Silver Wave media website may not be well-known among college basketball fans, former Salem High School and University of Virginia standout Richard Morgan might want to consider a subscription.
Silver Wave has come out with a list of the 100 most impactful head coaches in men’s NAIA basketball, including Morgan, who has been the head coach since 2009 at Bluefield University.
Requirements for the most impactful NAIA list include at least five seasons as an NAIA head coach who has had an average of at least 11 wins per season.
The list includes the likes of Montana Tech, Hope International, Dordt, Talladega and the Drovers of Multnomah in Oregon.
Bluefield, who sits on the Virginia side of the line, was 16-13 this past season under Morgan, also an assistant athletic director.
Morgan has an older brother, Charlie, who won more than 350 games before retiring as the coach at Dobbyns-Bennett High School in Kingsport, Tenn. At an earlier point in his career, he led Salem High School to a pair of state championships.
Richard Morgan said it was likely that one of his assistants was responsible for the placement on the Silver Wave site.
“I don’t know what’s going on,” Morgan said. “I just do my job. I don’t worry about stuff like that. Now, everybody’s going crazy because I got it. I’m on my way right now to go get a [recruit].”
“The people at my school did an article. They didn’t show you where the info came from. I’ve trained them up from boys to men. I’m hard on my guys but I’m fair.
“I think I teach them more than just basketball. I don’t lie to them. I don’t sugar-coat stuff. Some of them can take it; some of them can’t. I tell them, ‘You have a false sense of security because of what people told you before you got here.’ “
Morgan played at Virginia from 1986-89 and was a captain as a senior. He played in 124 games, including 91 starts, and finished with 1,540 points, good for 15th place in school history.
TRANSFER PORTAL
Miami has landed Norchad Omier, a 6-7, 232-pound forward from Nicaragua who averaged 17.9 points and 12.2 rebounds per game last year for Arkansas State, for whom he shot 63.2 percent from the field. Omier will join Nijel Pack who is joining the Hurricanes after scoring 12.7 points per game at Kansas State.
Virginia has taken a commitment from defensive tackle Devontae Davius, a graduate transfer from South Carolina. … Pittsburgh has a commitment from Kedon Slovis, a transfer from Southern Cal who will help fill the void left by the selection of the Panthers’ Kenny Pickett in the NFL Draft.
When Pickett was selected with the 20th overall pick, it marked the latest in the first round that a quarterback had been picked since Virginia Tech’s Jim Druckenmiller went 26th to San Francisco in 1997.
FAMILY TIES
- Sprinter Carmelo Taylor from Patrick Henry in Roanoke reports that he has a scholarship offer to play football at Virginia Tech. Taylor, the nephew of former Patrick Henry quarterback and NFL linebacker Shannon Taylor, also has been offered by Liberty.
- D.J. Toliver, a 6-foot-5, 265-pound offensive lineman from Lord Botetourt in Daleville. is rated the No. 11 prospect in Virginia by rivals.com for the 2024 incoming class. Both his father and his uncle played for UVa. … Elijah Rainer and Zahir Rainer of Trinity Episcopal in Richmond also have family ties to UVa.
BASEBALL
Virginia Tech outfielder Gavin Cross is rated the No. 5 Major League baseball prospect among collegians by D1 Baseball. Hokies’ catcher Cade Hunter is 44th on that list, ending the second round. UVa left-handed pitcher Nate Savino is 48th.
Hokies shortstop Tanner Schobel is viewed as a fourth-rounder at No. 85.