What new assistant coach Amorrow Morgan said about joining Tennessee Basketball

New Tennessee Basketball assistant coach Amorrow Morgan met with reporters on Wednesday, explaining why he took the job with Rick Barnes and the Vols after just six weeks at Florida State:

What made Tennessee a job he had to take after being a Florida State for just six weeks 

“Yeah, that was obviously the quickest move that I’ve had in my entire career. But when a Hall of Famer calls you, a smart man just ups and goes, especially with me being from the state of Tennessee and just following the program my entire life. But then also the job that he’s done, Coach Barnes, since he’s been here. I just looked at it as an opportunity of a lifetime, and it’s something that I couldn’t turn down. Had to pack my stuff up and get out of there.”

Growing up in West Tennessee and now being on the staff at Tennessee

“Means a lot. I’ve been following Rocky Top Nation, obviously, when I was coming up. National championship in football. Then just seeing Coach Peterson, Coach Pearl and all those guys as I was growing up. And some of my former teammates as I grew up, Bobby Maze and JP Prince, following their success here and just seeing the support just from this community in Knoxville, just my entire life and just having an opportunity to come here and just be able to help where they need. This is a dream come true for me. Big time Tennessee guy, always been a Tennessee fan. I know it’s kind of like, weird to say, coming from where I’m coming from. But, man, just super excited to be rocking this orange. And I’m excited to continue to keep moving the program in the right direction.” 

His first impressions of the new-look Tennessee roster

“So obviously we haven’t been here very long. Just seeing some of the guys, getting in the gym and sitting in our first team meeting, I was really impressed just with the leadership, from the continuity that we do have, the returners, just some of the things that they’ve said about their time here. Some of those guys have played elsewhere and just, you can just see the love that they have for this place and the love that they have for the staff. And just hearing them talk about what we need to do in order for us to accomplish what we want to accomplish, which is making a Final Four run, winning a national championship. So just for one, hearing their mentalities, I’ve been very, very impressed with. But then also just their work ethic. Like, every time I walk in here in Pratt, someone’s in the gym and it’s a different guy. They’re all hungry. They all know what the guys, the foundation that was laid before them, and they know it’s a hard act to follow. So they’re coming in with the right mindset, ready to go. So I’ve been really, really impressed with their work ethic. And I’ve also been impressed with their mentality.”

What it has been like working with Tennessee coach Rick Barnes so far

“It has been incredible. Obviously he’s hilarious. He’s a loving dude, a demanding dude. Obviously, he’s one of the greatest of all time. There’s not many guys that are still remaining in our profession that’s done what he’s done. So I’m excited to just, I’m all eyes and ears to learn and be a sponge to do exactly what he needs in order for us to do what he hopes and envisions this program to do to make make the community of Knoxville proud.”

Florida State coach Luke Loucks supporting his decision to take the Tennessee job after just six weeks at FSU 

“Coach Luke Loucks, he’s a pro. He’s been in the NBA for a long time, and he is going home, right, to Florida State. He’s from Tampa, so he understood the importance of what it’s like going back to your home state, getting closer back to your family. He understood. He was in full support. I think I did a pretty good job for him in the six weeks that I was working for him. We got there, we had two players. I left, we had 11. So if we had four players at the time (I left), he might not have said the same. But him and I still talk. I actually saw him on the road. It’s funny because, Coach (Barnes) actually saw him at Dick Vitale’s deal down in Florida maybe the week after (making the hire). And Coach Loucks was texting me, was like, this guy just big brother’d me, or whatever it might be. But he was, he really enjoyed, he was just the same as I. He was excited to be able to sit down next to a Hall of Famer and be able to pick his brain just the same.” 

How long his relationship goes back with Rick Barnes

“I wouldn’t say as long as others. Back in 2021, I was at South Alabama at the time I came in and I interviewed here. That’s when they hired Rod Clark. And I think I just happened to make a lasting impression. He definitely made one on me. And just the culture itself and the guys that were here, getting a chance to talk to them, just see how this thing is ran, just be a part of it for a day. And Coach is the best. He drove me around and showed me around the entire area, city, campus, and made me feel like I was a part of the family even before I was. So that made a lasting impression on me. So I kept in contact with him and kept in contact with some of the guys on staff over my time at Loyola Chicago and Cal. And then when the opportunity presented itself, I just think it all made sense.”

The conversations when Rick Barnes called him, his sales pitch

“I’m gonna be honest, he didn’t really have to do much selling. I think his body of work and just what he’s done over his time here, the 10 years that he’s been here, has just been incredibly remarkable. Especially for me, watching and witnessing the ebbs and flows, the ups and downs of the program just over my lifetime. Just the consistency that he’s been able to have here just right away, like, for me, it was no selling. I had already had a conversation with the wife. My wife already knew that if an opportunity like this at the University of Tennessee ever presented itself. No matter if I’m there for 10 days, we probably gotta up and leave. So I’m super excited to be here and excited to learn from him. Obviously, he’s the absolute best.”

If it was hard to get out of his lease in Tallahassee

“I was a little stressed about that. I was. Cause I did sign a lease when I was there, but they let me out pretty quickly. They understood just because it was a relocation deal. I was on websites, ChatGPT just looking at all these different things, I was worried about being able to break your lease in Florida and the people ended up being understanding and I got out of there. I didn’t lose too much money.”

If he told the leasing office that a Hall of Famer called

“I didn’t tell them a Hall of Famer called, but maybe I would have came out of there unscathed. They took a little bit of my money on my way out. But

Tennessee not losing anyone to the portal

“I think that’s absolutely incredible. I just think that speaks volumes to just obviously coach himself, just how much he loves on the players, how much he’s around the players. I got a chance to see that, up close and personal before I came here. Just how how tight knit of a group this is. And then on top of that, just the staff itself, getting to know them, being out on the road with coach Polinski and  his background and getting to know Coach Gainey, both of those guys. So much head coaching experience and potential head coaching experience on this staff to be able to learn from those guys. So just knowing how they do things on a day to day, it all makes sense that no one should ever want to leave this place. You have everything from the resources, you have the financial backing, you have arguably, I would say just from sitting in one all staff meeting, the best AD in the country. Obviously the city of Knoxville is beautiful. It makes sense why no one would want to leave this place. So I’m not surprised at all.”

If he had prior relationships with anyone on Tennessee’s roster

“Yeah, just transfer portal, just when guys hop in, man, that’s just the nature of the beast right now. You just, you know, banging out the text and just reaching out and reached out to several of them actually over my time. Some of them when I was at South Alabama. Some of these guys have been in school five, six years now. But I actually recruited Ja’Kobi Gillespie really, really hard when I was at Loyola Chicago and he ended up at Belmont and ended up being a phenomenal player. So it’s all come back full circle. It was pretty cool that when I did get hired, he was like, yeah, finally coach. So it was pretty cool messaging with him that I’ll be able to actually work with him every day knowing how special of a player he is.”