Screams. Cheers. Applause.
"He's only the third person ever to do this. The first guy is (North Carolina State's) Everett Case. I looked it up. Everett Case beat Winthrop 12 times, Winston-Salem Junior College eight times," Mihalich continued, kiddingly.
(Syracuse's)Jim Boeheim is the other guy. He had 100 wins and 18 losses. What this guy did today deserves a special tribute."
Junior point guard Doug Overton, the floor leader and the team's most outgoing member, took over.
"Coach," Overton began, "on behalf of the La Salle Explorers and all your players who enjoyed playing with you, you're the best. Congratulations."
"There's a couple other guys who are a part of this too," Morris said. ''Lionel Simmons, I think, had something to do with these wins."
Morris talked about his assistant coaches and remembered the players who were the cornerstones of the program he inherited in 1986, the building blocks of all that La Salle basketball has become.
"The guys that we can never forget," Morris said, "are the guys that got it started. I'm talking about Larry Koretz and Timmy Legler and Richie Tarr and Craig Conlin and Ron Barnes and all the others. They're the guys that got the program back, with the help of everybody here."
"He's just a winner," Overton said after the din died down. " Every team he coaches, they win. To win them so fast, I'm happy to be a part of it and it's something I can think about when my playing days are over."
Said Bob Johnson: "To be a part of a team with the first guy (Simmons) to ever score 3,000 points and get 1,400 rebounds and the third guy to get 100 wins in four seasons, I'm just happy to be a part of it."
"He deserves anything he gets," said Jack Hurd, who has been involved in 56 wins and only seven losses with Morris. "He's a terrific coach, the best guy I ever worked under."
"He's done an excellent job," said Simmons, who has had a little to do with the 100 wins. "A lot of the decisions he's made have keyed our victories."
And now all the Explorers want are Nos. 101, 102, 103, 104 and 105 - and the national championship they would bring. And, the sooner, the better.
