Speedy Morris captures 900th career victory

By Ted Silary

silaryt@phillynews.com

In a crowded corner of St. Joseph's Prep's basketball locker room, long after much of the excitement had ebbed, coach William "Speedy" Morris finally got the chance to address his players.

First things first: There'd be practice today. No one booed or even groaned.

Then he noted, "Too much of this is on me."

Well, sir, the spotlight tends to resemble the sun when a guy garners his nine hundredth career coaching victory.

Before an overflow crowd - stands filled, people standing behind folding chairs at each end, some spectators looking down from the indoor track high above court level - the Hawks Friday downed visiting Roman Catholic, 73-67, to make Morris 900-384 in 44 seasons with both genders at the high school/college levels.

In the waning moments, perched right behind the bench, Morris' six grandchildren unfurled a banner that read: "900 Wins! Congrats Pop-Pop!"

As the buzzer sounded, son Keith, a Prep assistant, hugged Speedy and planted a kiss on his left cheek. The players, managers and coaches soon gathered at midcourt for pictures, and PA announcer Joe Donahue implored all family members to join the midcourt festivities.

He intoned, "Family is a big deal for coach Speedy Morris!"

Speaking of families, the player stationed right behind Morris' left shoulder in the photo op was swingman Kevin Oberlies, a 6-1 senior guard. He's the first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth brother to attend the Prep and the fifth to be part of the program.

You can tell Oberlies loves recounting the family history, too, because he can rattle off his brothers' names and years of graduation in rapid-fire fashion: John '03, Matt '04 (rugby player), James '06, Mike '08 (video coordinator for the basketball team), Joseph '10 and now Kevin. All were in the house.

Oberlies contributed nine points, four assists and two steals, and he would have insisted on playing on this one even with broken bones and/or death-bed illnesses.

"Speedy is the best coach in Philadelphia history," Oberlies said. "The way he treats his players, which is tremendous, and the way he coaches . . . You couldn't meet a better person.

"He's a part of the Oberlies family, and I'm so happy I'm a part of his St. Joe's Prep family."