Scott Morrison of the Maine Red Claws was named NBA D-League Coach of the Year on Wednesday.
A native of Prince Edward Island, Morrison led the Claws to a franchise-best 35-15 record in his first year as head coach. He spent the previous season as a volunteer assistant with Maine during a sabbatical after a decade leading Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario.
“Obviously I’d trade it 10 times over for the chance to keep playing,” said Morrison, whose top-seeded team was swept out of the playoffs in two games by Fort Wayne, the defending league champion. “But it’s kind of a nice feather in the cap for our staff and our whole team. I didn’t get one basket or one rebound. Those guys did a lot of work this year to get us those wins.”
Morrison and his staff coached the Eastern Conference team to victory in the D-League All-Star Game in Brooklyn. His squad included two Red Claws – Chris Babb and Tim Frazier – both of whom are currently playing in the NBA. The Red Claws also had eight NBA players assigned to them at various points of the season.
Morrison is the first Red Claws coach to be so honored.
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