Athlete of the Week: Troy Morrison

Senior and point guard Troy Morrison darts forward, swiftly slaps the ball away from an opposing guard and dribbles it a step before feeding it to a teammate. Passes weave in and out, a shot is taken and it’s yet another two points for Exeter. Morrison, the playmaker, maintains full control of the court.

Growing up, Morrison was an avid Detroit Pistons fan. At the time, the point-guard for the team was Chauncey “Mr. Big Shot” Billups. Alongside encouragement from his parents, Billups’ play-style inspired Morrison to become the best basketball player he could be.

With a great inspiration, a solid drive and a lot of talent, Morrison was well equipped to become the powerful player he is today.

But Basketball hasn’t always been Morrison’s speciality. When he was young, he also played football and baseball. “Growing up, my family really loved sports and my dad played football, so I was led to play football when I was young,” Morrison said. “But then at the same time I had a huge passion for basketball, so I played both at the same time.”

Basketball turned out to be his lasting passion. Baseball turned out to be a passing interest; Morrison gave it up before the fifth grade. He played football and basketball during the years leading up the high school, but because of injuries he was forced to change that. “It was definitely a tough decision but I broke my hand and missed most of my 8th and 9th grade football season,” he said. “I stopped loving football as much as I did basketball, so I gave it up.” Morrison ended up playing basketball for all five years of his high school experience.

“My favorite aspect is how we’re all one big family. Whenever anyone’s going through tough times on the team, everybody else surrounds him, and that brings us closer together. It makes us seem like more of a family—you’re not always out there alone.”

“I sort of just…ran into Exeter,” Morrison said when asked about why he chose PEA. He attended Brown’s basketball camp during this past summer, and had made it clear that he was interested in a postgraduate year. Brown’s basketball coach introduced him to a handful of people and soon enough, Morrison met the Exeter’s varsity basketball coach, Jay Tilton.

When Morrison came to the Academy for a postgraduate year, he not only had to acclimate to the basketball team’s offensive style, but also to the members of the team itself. “I had been with my old teammates for so long, and knew their strengths and weaknesses. Just learning and getting to know my new teammates here at Exeter was a new challenge,” he said.

Now, as the season nears an end, Morrison has felt he has overcome that challenge and has bonded well with his teammates. “My favorite aspect is how we’re all one big family. Whenever anyone’s going through tough times on the team, everybody else surrounds him, and that brings us closer together. It makes us seem like more of a family—you’re not always out there alone.”

Morrison is a point guard; he leads the team’s offense and is constantly feeding the ball to his fellow teammates. He possesses the speed and the ability to play on-ball defense well. He is incredible at making split-second decisions and calling out plays. With these traits in mind, it’s not surprising that Morrison is often commended for his ceaseless motivation and boundless energy.

“On the court, Troy is an absolute dream to play with; he has that killer instinct you see in players like Luke Walton and other greats,” senior Evan Crawford said. “He really contributes to the team through his uncanny ability to raise the energy level to make sure we’re all on task.”

Upper James Foye offered similar praise. “His ability to guard the other team’s quickest and best guards has been a great asset for our team.”

“He’s also a great point guard himself who pushes the ball and gets his teammates involved really well,” Foye added.

“He’s a great leader on and off the court for the team,” lower and manager Ally Grounds said. “When the energy is low, he makes sure to get everyone hyped up. He is always encouraging, no matter what happens on the court.”

Like the rest of the team, Morrison maintains high hopes for the rest of the season. “So far throughout the season, we’ve been up and down and we had some early big wins, but we definitely have big games coming up,” he said. “[There are] lots of top teams in Class A, so hopefully we get big wins and stick in there for the playoffs. Make some noise.”

Even off the court, Morrison maintains his energetic personality and remains a great person to be around. His “very weird infatuation with pasta sauce,” as Crawford called it, is well known among his peers and it motivates him wherever he is.

“At the dining hall after practice he always loves to stop by the pasta bar, and especially loves the pasta sauce,” upper Perry DeLorenzo said. “His favorite days, though, are when he can get pasta sauce and meatballs.”

As of now, Morrison is not sure if he wants to continue his basketball career in college, but he knows that the sport has and will continue to positively impact both him and his teammates.

Morrison was able to sum up why he loves basketball and his motivations in just a few words. “Winning. To be the best you have to win, and that’s what drives me,” he said.