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  • Holly Pond’s Gunter Morris prepares to cut to the lane during last season’s Northwest Regional Tournament at the Tom Drake Coliseum, while coach Mitch Morris, Gunter’s father pictured in the back right, leads the Broncos from the bench. Amanda Shavers-Davis

    Gunter and Mitch Morris

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June 17, 2012

FATHER’S DAY: Mitch, Gunter Morris thrive as Holly Pond’s father-son duo

By Rob Ketcham The Cullman Times

CULLMAN — There’s a common perception that a few perks come along with playings sports on a team coached by your father. A guaranteed spot in the starting lineup. All the playing time you could ever hope for. And don’t even think dad would yell at you in front of all your friends. That’s just the way “daddy ball” works, right?

Mitch and Gunter Morris don’t quite see it that way. Yes, Mitch is the varsity boys basketball coach at Holly Pond. And yes, Gunter, Mitch’s son, is a starter on that very same Bronco squad. But that fact has nothing to do with his dad being the head honcho. After watching the way the rising junior has performed on the court over the past few years, it doesn’t take long to realize Gunter is a starter because he deserves it, not because of who his father happens to be.

“I told Gunter several years ago, being a coach’s kid, you either need to be really bad or really good so we can justify your playing time,” Mitch said with a chuckle. “Fortunately for my case, he’s really good. That’s a very strong benefit.”

Come winter, Mitch will enter his ninth year as Holly Pond’s coach. Over that time, he’s seen more boys come through the Bronco program than he can count, and he’s tried to treat each and every one of them equally. However, Mitch is fully aware of the slightly different approach he takes with his son, but not in any ways you might think.

“I try to treat him like the other guys, but I tend to be harder on him than on everyone else because I expect more out of him,” Mitch said. “I expect that he knows everything I know, and that doesn’t always work out. I’ve got to remember he’s a 16-year-old, 17-year-old kid still trying to get by in life and play basketball.

“It’s kind of a mixed emotion type deal. If you look at it from the father side, you want him to be the best basketball player, score points, do everything. But from the coach’s side, you’ve got to be able to mix that in with the team concept, which is something I really stress.”

So far, Mitch hasn’t had any problems striking the right balance between being a father and coach. He’s gotten his cake — Gunter has consistently developed into a reliable starter since he burst onto the scene a few years ago — and he’s eating it, too — the Broncos have strung together two straight superb seasons, ending their 2010 and ’11 campaigns at the Northwest Regional Tournament in Hanceville.

Knowing his dad patrols the bench and is scrutinized by the win-loss records his squads produce helps motivate Gunter to strive for his best at all times.

“I like to win for him, and I always play hard for him,” he said. “It always feels really good to win for your dad.”

One of Mitch’s favorite memories as Gunter’s prep basketball coach goes back to the 2011 Cullman County Tournament. He said Holly Pond was trailing Fairview in the second half of an intense rivalry matchup before Gunter, only a freshman at the time, took over in the fourth quarter. He was able to make numerous steals, convert those turnovers to points and ultimately keep the Broncos in the game.

“He’s done some things in the course of games and practice where I go, ‘Wow, that’s my son making that play,’” Mitch said. “That makes it even more special.”

It’s not a stretch to wonder if Mitch plans to leave the program when Gunter eventually hangs up his green and white jersey for good after two more seasons. There’s another Morris — Griffin, a rising seventh-grader — on his way up through the Holly Pond basketball program, though, and Mitch said his current intentions are to stick around until his youngest son graduates.

“The biggest thrill I have is that me, Gunter and Griffin share a great love for basketball,” Mitch said. “This is our time, and it’s something we can do to bond together. Sharing that time together is a very big thing for me, and it’s very special.”

Rob Ketcham can be reached at 256-734-2131, ext. 257 or at robk@cullmantimes.com.

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